Could the Menendez brothers be freed? Resentencing hearing set to begin

The Menendez brothers, who were convicted of killing their parents in their Beverly Hills mansion in 1989, may be released from prison after a two-day resentencing hearing on Thursday and Friday.

Lyle Menendez, 56, and his 53-year-old brother Erik are serving life in prison without parole for the shotgun murders of their father and mother – Jose and Kitty Menendez.

Speaking from prison for the first time in nearly 10 years, Lyle said he and his brother are “cautiously hopeful” about being freed.

“Hope for the future is really kind of a new thing for us. I think Erik would probably agree with that. It’s not something we’ve spent a lot of time on,” he told TMZ in an interview at the beginning of April.

The brothers have maintained their parents abused them since they were first charged with the murders.

A Netflix drama series about the brothers called Monsters, which aired in September, thrust them back into the spotlight and led to renewed calls for their release – including from their family.

The brothers’ lawyers asked Los Angeles prosecutors to review their sentencing, potentially paving the way for their release.

After being pushed back a number of times the resentencing hearing is set to go ahead today.

But what is the case for the brothers’ freedom – and why has the decision been delayed until now?

How can they be freed?

Former LA district attorney George Gascon asked LA County Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic to review the brothers’ convictions before he left the role in December.

He recommended giving them a revised sentence of 50 years to life, which would make them immediately eligible for youth parole because they were less than 26 years old when they killed their parents.

The judge has been asked to look at whether the pair have been rehabilitated, based on their behaviour in prison.

A document filed by the lawyers highlights some of their achievements while behind bars, including both attaining several degrees and contributing to the community.

It lists a prison “beautification programme” Lyle Menendez started called GreenSpace as one example, and adds that both brothers have received low-risk assessment scores, with Lyle apparently not being involved in a single fight during his time in jail.

The lawyers have also submitted a letter Erik wrote to his cousin as new evidence, saying it was not seen by the jury when the brothers were sentenced in 1996 and could have influenced their decision.

The letter is dated months before the murders, which they say alludes to him being abused by his father, Jose Menendez.

In the handwritten letter, Erik wrote: “I’ve been trying to avoid dad… every night, I stay up thinking he might come in.”

He also said he was “afraid” and that he needed to “put it out of my mind” and “stop thinking about it”.

More new evidence submitted comes from Roy Rossello, a former member of the band Menudo, who alleges he was sexually assaulted by Jose Menendez as a teenager in the 1980s.

He has provided a signed declaration of his alleged rape by Jose Menendez to the brothers’ lawyers, which the lawyers say is further proof of his supposed abusive nature.

In a news conference, Mr Gascon clarified that the review was not to determine whether or not the brothers killed their parents, saying it was “factual” and “well established” they had.

Why was the hearing delayed?

Judge Jesic said it was partially because he needed time to review 17 boxes of documents relating to the case and was “not ready to go forward”.

But it’s also because the DA who recommended the review, Mr Gascon, has been replaced by Nathan Hochman, who took office on 2 December.

The judge said the delay would give Mr Hochman enough time to review and weigh in on the case.

The new DA, a Republican-turned-independent, has differing views to his predecessor Mr Gascon, a Democrat known for his particularly progressive views.

The trial was set for the end of January, but it was pushed back again to March due to the California wildfires.

The two-day resentencing hearing was delayed once more when there was a hearing to decide if the resentencing petition proposed by Mr Gascon would be upheld or withdrawn.

Big changes since new district attorney took office

LA’s previous DA Gascon called for the resentencing because he believed the brothers had been rehabilitated in prison, and felt their trial would have been treated differently with today’s understanding of how sexual and physical abuse affects children.

But his successor, Mr Hochman, disagrees, saying the brothers have repeatedly lied about why they killed their parents and “fell short” of taking full responsibility for their crimes.

He has opposed the resentencing, saying it’s because of their “lack of full insight and lack of complete responsibility for their murders”.

Read more:
Kim Kardashian visits Lyle and Erik Menendez in jail
Netflix series star ‘stands with’ Menendez brothers
Monsters creator reacts after family label drama ‘grotesque’

Another potential road to freedom

In addition to a resentencing, the brothers have also sought their freedom through a request for clemency from California governor Gavin Newsom, who has the power to free them himself.

Mr Newsom, who supported Mr Gascon, has ruled out the possibility of granting clemency until after the resentencing hearing.

So even if the brothers are denied freedom through resentencing, they have hope through the governor.

At the end of February, the governor ordered the state parole board to investigate whether the brothers would pose a risk to the public.

Mr Newsom said he wanted the parole board to finish the risk assessment within 90 days. A hearing allowing victims’ family members and prosecutors to participate in the process is now scheduled to take place in June.

Ms Levenson has suggested that because of the change at the DA’s office, clemency is now the brothers’ best shot at freedom.

What the Menendez family says

Some of the brothers’ extended relatives attended the hearing on 25 November where a resentencing date was originally set.

Two of their aunts testified, making what a lawyer for the siblings described during a brief news conference as “impassioned pleas” for Erik and Lyle to be sent home.

Erik’s stepdaughter said their family remains united in their effort to bring the siblings home.

While the judge’s delay was not “the outcome we had hoped for,” she said in a statement, “we remain optimistic that it represents a step forward in securing their freedom”.

The brothers themselves were scheduled to make their first court appearance in years, but the remote feed from the San Diego prison where they are incarcerated was hampered by technical issues.

On 17 October, two dozen extended family members gathered for a news conference in Los Angeles.

Jose Menendez’s niece Anamaria Baralt spoke on their behalf, telling reporters: “Both sides of the family are united, sharing a new bond of hope.

“This is about truth, justice and healing… Their continued incarceration serves no rehabilitative purpose.”

Ms Baralt said the brothers were victims of a “culture that was not ready to listen”, as she called on the district attorney’s office to “take into account the full picture”.

Joan Andersen VanderMolen, Kitty Menendez’s sister, also told reporters: “I had no idea the extent of the abuse they suffered at the hands of my brother-in-law. None of us did.

“We know that abuse has long effects, and victims of trauma sometimes act in ways that are very difficult to understand.”

Family not entirely united

Kitty Menendez’s brother, Milton Andersen, 90, has said “the appropriate sentence” for the pair was life in prison without parole.

His lawyer said: “He believes that there was no molestation that occurred. He believes that the motive was pure greed, because they had just learned that they were going to be taken out of the will.”