- The Menendez brothers murdered their parents in 1989
- They were given life sentences at 18 and 21
- Resentencing could result in being eligible for parole
A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge has ruled that the resentencing of the Menendez brothers, who were convicted of murdering their parents, can go ahead.
Erik and Lyle Menendez killed their parents in their Beverly Hills mansion in 1989. They were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole at ages 18 and 21.
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The defense claimed the brothers acted in self-defense following years of sexual abuse by their father. The prosecutors, however, argued they murdered their parents to claim a multimillion-dollar inheritance.
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Last year, Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón filed a petition asking Judge Jesic to reduce the brothers’ sentence from life without the possibility of parole to fifty years to life, citing their young ages at the time of the crime. Because they were under 26 when the murders occurred, the change would make them immediately eligible for parole.
However, last month, Mr. Gascón’s successor, Nathan Hochman, filed a motion to withdraw the resentencing request. He called the Menendez brothers liars and said they had not demonstrated rehabilitation.
Judge rules Menendez resentencing can continue
On Friday, the Menendez brothers watched via Zoom from their San Diego prison, dressed in blue overalls. Despite Mr. Hochman’s opposition, Judge Michael Jesic ruled that the hearing could proceed.
It was a daylong session during which prosecutors displayed graphic crime scene photos of Jose and Kitty Menendez’s bodies in a courtroom lined with family members.
Mark Geragos, the brothers’ lawyer, said the district attorney’s office was too focused on rehashing the original trial rather than considering how the brothers have spent the past thirty-five years in prison. He said they had been studying and participating in rehabilitation programs to help disabled and elderly inmates.
Judge Jesic ultimately decided, “Everything you argued today is absolutely fair game for the resentencing hearing next Thursday.” He also told prosecutors, “There’s no new information. None of this is really new. They’ve stuck with their story. It goes to whether they’ve been rehabilitated.”
Speaking after the hearing, Geragos said, “Today is a good day. Justice won over politics.”
Netflix sparked new interest in case
Last year, Netflix’s drama Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story and the true crime documentary The Menendez Brothers sparked new interest in the case.
The projects prompted new discussions around the brothers’ claims of abuse, reigniting the public’s fascination and resulting in people calling for their release.
Both the drama and the documentary recount how the brothers initially told police they had come home from the theater to discover their parents had been brutally killed.
Their resentencing hearing, which is expected to last at least two days, begins in Van Nuys, Los Angeles on Thursday 17 April.
