George Gascon announced on Thursday that he will seek a sentence for Lyle Menendez, Erik Menendez, and their parents for the murders. It could result in their release.
Gascon filed the motion for a change in sentence on Thursday. Currently, they are sentenced to life without parole. A Superior Court judge will make the final decision.
Gascon said that the men would be eligible for parole because they killed their parents before they reached 26 years old if a judge followed his recommendation of resentencing.
No hearing date had been set as of Thursday evening.
In Beverly Hills, in 1989, two brothers aged 18 and 21 fatally shot Jose Menendez.
Defense attorneys for the brothers claimed their father sexually abused both of them. Both were found guilty after two trials of murder. They were sentenced to life without parole.
Gascon said that his recommendation of a resentencing for Thursday was not supported by all.
Gascon said that “there were people in the office who strongly believed that Menendez Brothers shouldn’t be released from prison until the end of their lives and that they didn’t believe they had been molested.”
Some people believe that they should be removed from their office immediately and in reality, there was molestation.
“I believe that they’ve already paid off their debt to society.”
Gascon said three weeks ago his office was reviewing the case in order to determine whether they should be given a new sentence.
Gascon, who is running for reelection next month, said that “we have a moral duty to examine what has been given.”
Gascon said that the evidence brought to his office included a copy of a written letter by one of the two brothers accusing a family member of sexual assault.
Gascon said that the defense attorneys had provided evidence proving that one of Menudo’s boy band members claimed to have been sexually abused by Jose Menendez.
Roy Rossello was a former member of Menendez + Menudo between 1983 and 1986. In the 2023 series “Menendez + Menudo – Boys Betrayed”, he claimed that Jose Menendez raped him when RCA was his employer.
Gascon claimed that in his motion for sentencing, the Menendez Brothers do not pose a threat to public safety.
Gascon wrote that the sentences given to Erik Menendez, Lyle Menendez, and others in 1996 were aligned with what was considered best practice for the public’s safety. Today, the practices that are considered best for the public’s safety have changed.
Anamaria, the niece of Jose Menendez, praised Gascon for his choice. She said that the family was “united in hope and gratitude” at the press conference.
She said: “Together, we can make sure that Erik and Lyle receive the justice they deserve. They will come home.”
Mark Geragos celebrated when the DA made its recommendation.
He said: “Today is a monumental, massive victory on the road to their freedom. ”
The brothers’ first trial was a mistrial due to the deadlock of the jury.
The abuse claims in their second case were not serious. They were found guilty in 1996 of first-degree murder and sentenced to life without parole.
Erik Menendez is now 53 years old and the son of Lyle Menendez.
Both habeas petitions as well as resentencing requests were filed. It is claimed that the verdict could have been different had certain evidence been presented at trial.
Gascon explained California law permits a prosecutor to also assess whether a defendant is rehabilitated and then ask the court if they should resentence him.
The prosecution accused the brothers of murdering their fathers to inherit a huge fortune.
Milton Andersen’s brother is Kitty Menendez. Milton Andersen’s attorney informed Gascon in a letter that Milton Andersen does not support an early release.
According to his lawyer Kathy Cady, “Mr. Andersen is opposed to any Resentencing and objects to any concessions made in the Habeas Claim.”
Cady wrote in a letter dated October 14, “Erik Menendez and Lyle Menendez were motivated by pure greed.”
Menendez was dealt with by the DA’s Resentencing Unit. In April 2021, the Los Angeles County DA created it to combat over-incarceration.
The DA’s Office stated that the team in conjunction with the DA Murder Resentencing Unit, has reviewed or is reviewing 705 cases. This resulted in 332 resentencing.
Last week, about 20 family members rallied outside the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Centre in downtown Los Angeles in support of the brothers’ release.
The prisoners’ relatives launched a petition for their release, claiming justice was done since they had spent more than 35 years in prison.
According to family members, the brothers were victims in a society that, in decades past, had no compassion for young boys who were sexually abused.
Their continued imprisonment is not in their best interests. Baralt, Jose Menendez’s niece, says that they should be given a second chance.
Joan Andersen VanderMolen admitted that she struggled to accept the murders but, as more information came to light about the abuse the boys’ father had allegedly perpetrated, she said her actions were “desperate” responses from two boys trying to survive.
“They were just children. Children who could have been protected and were instead brutalized in the most horrific ways,” she said. “Lyle and Eric have already paid a heavy price. … They have grown, they have changed, and they have become better men despite everything that they’ve been through. It’s time to allow them to live the rest of their lives free from the shadow of their past.”
