LOS ANGELES (AP) 鈥� Prosecutors recommended Thursday be resentenced for the 1989 killings of their parents in the family鈥檚 Beverly Hills home, providing the brothers with a chance at freedom after 34 years behind bars.
Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gasc贸n announced during a Thursday news conference that his office would recommend the brothers receive a new sentence of 50 years to life. Because they were under 26 years old at the time of the crimes, they would be eligible for parole immediately, he said.
Resentencing must now be approved by a judge, and the state parole board would have to sign off on the brothers鈥� release.
鈥淚 came to a place where I believe, under the law, resentencing is appropriate," Gasc贸n said. He said some members of his office oppose the decision.
Prosecutors filed the petition Thursday and a hearing before a judge could come within the next month or so.
The Menendez brothers were sentenced in 1996 to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
, then 21, and Erik Menendez, then 18, admitted they fatally shot their entertainment executive father, Jose Menendez, and their mother, Kitty Menendez. The brothers said they feared their parents were about to kill them to stop people from finding out that Jose Menendez had sexually abused Erik Menendez for years.
Family largely unites to call for brothers' freedom
The brothers鈥� extended family , saying they deserve to be free after decades behind bars. Several family members have said that in today鈥檚 world 鈥� which is more aware of the impact of sexual abuse 鈥� the brothers would not have been convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life.
Multiple members of their extended family, including their aunt Joan Andersen VanderMolen, sat in the first few rows of Thursday's news conference. VanderMolen was Kitty Menendez鈥檚 sister and has publicly supported their release. Family members said they flew across the country on six hours鈥� notice to be in attendance.
Mark Geragos, an attorney for the brothers, would not say whether he had spoken to Lyle and Erik on Thursday but said he believes they have heard about the district attorney's decision. Geragos said a 鈥渞eentry plan鈥� has already been drafted if the brothers get released to help them reacclimate to being free.
Anamaria Baralt, a niece of Jose Menendez, said the district attorney's 鈥渂rave and necessary" decision means 鈥淟yle and Erik can finally begin to heal from the trauma of their past.鈥�
Not all Menendez family members support resentencing. Attorneys for Milton Andersen, the 90-year-old brother of Kitty Menendez, filed a legal brief asking the court to keep the brothers鈥� original punishment. 鈥淭hey shot their mother, Kitty, reloading to ensure her death,鈥� Andersen鈥檚 attorneys said in a statement Thursday. 鈥淭he evidence remains overwhelmingly clear: the jury鈥檚 verdict was just, and the punishment fits the heinous crime.鈥�
Geragos declined to comment on the statement by Andersen鈥檚 attorneys.
District attorney believes Erik and Lyle 鈥榩aid their debt鈥�
Gasc贸n said he made the final decision only an hour before the news conference and that family members were told just minutes before.
Despite their life sentences, Gasc贸n said the brothers worked on redemption and rehabilitation inside prison.
鈥淚 believe that they have paid their debt to society,鈥� he said.
Though Kitty Menendez was not accused of abusing her sons, she appears to have facilitated the abuse, according to her sons' legal filings. One cousin testified during the brothers鈥� first trial that Lyle told her he was too scared to sleep in his room because his father would come in and touch his genitals. When the cousin told Kitty Menendez, she 鈥渁ngrily dragged Lyle upstairs by his arm,鈥� the petition said.
Another family member testified that when Jose Menendez was in the bedroom with one of the boys, no one was allowed to walk down the hallway outside.
The Menendez brothers were tried twice for their parents鈥� murders, with the first trial ending in a hung jury.
Prosecutors at the time contended that there was no evidence of molestation, and many details in the story of sexual abuse were not permitted in the second trial. The district attorney鈥檚 office also said back then that the brothers were after their parents鈥� multimillion-dollar estate.
How Los Angeles politics could play a role
The LA district attorney is in the middle of a tough reelection fight against former federal prosecutor Nathan Hochman, who has blamed Gasc贸n鈥檚 progressive reform policies for recent high-profile murders and increased retail crime.
Gasc贸n said Thursday that his office has recommended resentencing for some 300 offenders, including people behind bars for murder.
Hochman on Thursday questioned the timing of the Gasc贸n's announcement, coming less than two weeks before the election and calling it a 鈥渄esperate political move.鈥�
He said he is unable to form his own opinion on the case without access to confidential records and relevant witnesses.
鈥淚f I become DA and the case is still pending at that time, I will conduct a review consistent with how I would review any case,鈥� Hochman said.
Geragos said the DA took the case seriously long before there was any talk of him losing reelection.
Laurie Levenson, a professor of criminal law at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, warned that the judge would not likely be a 鈥渞ubber stamp鈥� on the resentencing recommendation due to dissent within Gasc贸n鈥檚 office.
鈥淭hat puts the judge actually in a very challenging position,鈥� Levenson said, who noted that she had not heard of any cases until recently where the head of the office disagreed with other lawyers involved in the case. Ultimately, Gasc贸n chose the 鈥渟afest route鈥� for his decision 鈥� leaving it up to the court and parole board, she said.
Geragos has said he's hopeful the brothers could be freed by Thanksgiving. Levenson called that deadline 鈥渁wfully hopeful."
Recent documents bring new attention to case
The Menendez case has gained new traction in recent weeks after Netflix began streaming the true-crime drama 鈥� .鈥�
Roy Rossello, a former member of the Latin pop group Menudo, also recently came forward saying he was drugged and raped by Jose Menendez, the boys鈥� father, when he was a teen in the 1980s.
Rossello spoke about his abuse in the 2023 Peacock docuseries 鈥淢enendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed.鈥� His allegations are part of the evidence listed in the petition filed last year by the Menendez brothers鈥� attorney, seeking a review of their case. Rossello鈥檚 assertion that he was raped twice by Jose Menendez is part of the Menendez brothers鈥� petition.
Menudo was signed under RCA Records, which Jose Menendez headed at the time.
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Associated Press videojournalist Thomas Peipert in Denver contributed to this report. ___ This story corrects the spelling of Milton Andersen's name. It is not Anderson.
Stefanie Dazio, Jaimie Ding And Christopher Weber, The Associated Press
