Los Angeles:
Brothers Lyle and Eric Menendez, whose gruesome 1989 murder of their wealthy parents was the subject of a recent Netflix series, said Thursday that U.S. prosecutors asked a judge to review their sentencing. Following the announcement, there is a possibility that he will be released from prison.
In a blockbuster trial that captivated the United States and made headlines around the world, the pair were sentenced to life in prison without parole for committing a shotgun murder at a luxury Beverly Hills home.
At the time, prosecutors alleged that the couple planned to kill Jose Luise “Kitty” Menendez and his wife in order to hasten their inheritance of $14 million.
But supporters said they were victims of ongoing sexual and physical abuse, and that they had died after years of suffering at the hands of their oppressive father.
Read | Menendez brothers kill their parents to avoid abuse, relatives ask for release
“After careful consideration of all the allegations, we believe that re-sentencing is appropriate under the law and we will be recommending it to the court tomorrow,” Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón told reporters Thursday. ” he said.
Gascón said he would recommend that the brothers be charged with murder. This crime carries a penalty of 50 years in prison.
“Because they were under the age of 26 at the time these crimes occurred, they will be immediately eligible for parole.”
Gascón, who faces a tough re-election bid in November, said he does not condone the violent killings committed by the Menendez brothers, who were 19 and 21 at the time, but believes there were special circumstances.
“If you are being abused, the right thing to do is to call the police and ask for help. But we also understand that sometimes people get desperate.”
“Thoughtful”
Eric Menendez, now 53, and Lyle Menendez, now 56, have served nearly 35 years in prison since their convictions.
Their cousin, Karen Vander Molen, praised Gascón’s “thoughtful” announcement.
“I know this wasn’t an easy decision, but it was the right one,” she said.
“This is about truth, justice, and healing. It’s time for Lyle and Eric to go home.”
She said the decision “gives us all hope that the truth will finally be heard and that Eric and Lyle can begin to recover from the horrors of their past.”
The judges will have the final say on Gascón’s recommendations, but he acknowledged that even within his own department there is no unanimity.
It was not immediately clear when a hearing on the matter would be held, but Gascón said his office would file court papers on Friday.
Legal experts told local media that the brothers still had to go through a lengthy legal process and would not be released from prison any time soon.
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Their first trial, which began in 1993, was one of the first televised murder cases in the United States and made daily headlines around the world. The jury deadlocked, resulting in a mistrial, but he was found guilty in the second trial.
Last year, lawyers filed a motion with the court to introduce new evidence of Jose Menendez’s history of sexual abuse.
The new evidence also includes a letter Eric wrote to his cousin months before the murders, saying he was “trying to avoid my father. It’s still happening…my father might come in.” “I wake up every night thinking it’s not there,” she wrote.
Roy Rosselló, a former member of the 1980s boy band Menudo, said in a documentary series released last year that he was drugged and raped by Jose Menendez in the 1980s.
“We have a moral and ethical obligation to consider what is presented to us,” Gascón told reporters earlier this month.
His comments come two weeks after the release of Netflix’s crime drama “Monsters: The Story of Lyle and Erik Menendez.” The streaming giant also released the documentary film “The Menendez Brothers” last week.
Gascón said his office has received numerous calls about the matter as a result of the Netflix show.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
