LA County DA recommends resentencing for Menendez brothers

SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón has recommended a court to move forward with resentencing Lyle and Erik Menendez, who were sentenced to life in prison for murdering their parents at their Beverly Hills home in 1989.
During the Thursday afternoon press conference, Gascón said he would file the recommendation to the court on Friday to remove the sentencing of life without the possibility of parole and the brothers be resentenced with the possibility of parole. He added because they were under 26 years old at the time of the murders, they would be eligible for parole immediately.
“The teams that have worked on this, on the resentencing side of it, have spent literally, probably hundreds of hours by now looking at this case,” Gascón said.
Gascón emphasized that the judge makes the final decision. A hearing will not be scheduled until after the recommendation is filed.
“The reason why I’m here today… is because there was a more recent documentary about the case that again brought a tremendous amount of public attention,” Gascón said. “Even though this case was already scheduled to be heard in late November, I decided to move this case forward because, quite frankly, we didn’t have enough resources to handle all the requests. One of the things I strive to do in this office is to be transparent in everything we do.”
Gascón said on Oct. 3 that his office was
after new evidence came to light: a letter written by Erik Menendez to one of his cousins eight months before the murders that the defense attorneys say corroborate the brothers’ allegations of long-term sexual abuse at the hands of their father. Additionally, a former member of the Puerto Rican boy band Menudo also alleged that Jose Menendez had sexually abused him as a teen, according to the 2023 court filing.
In the letter, Erik Menendez wrote, in part: “I’ve been trying to avoid Dad. It’s still happening Andy, but it’s worse for me now. I can’t explain it… I never know when it’s going to happen and it’s driving me crazy. Every night I stay up thinking he might come in. I need to put it out of my mind.”
Although DA Gascón has acknowledged publicly that the brothers did murder their parents, the first trial from 1994 ended in a hung jury over a disagreement on whether to bring first-degree murder or lesser charges, including manslaughter.
The sexual abuse allegations were the cornerstone for the defense, as the brothers emphasized they had feared for their lives. The two never denied gunning down Jose Menendez and Mary Louise, also known as “Kitty.”
Meanwhile, the prosecution argued they were guilty of first-degree murder, alleging the brothers carried out the killings for financial gain. They highlighted Erik and Lyle’s luxurious spending from the multimillion-dollar inheritance in the months before their arrests.
The second trial, which, at the judge’s discretion, lacked much of the witness testimony regarding the allegations of sexual abuse by Jose Menendez, ended with first-degree murder and conspiracy convictions for the brothers.
They were both sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Erik, 53, has been incarcerated at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego since 2013. Lyle, 56,
.
As Gascón alluded to, public interest surrounding the Menendez brothers’ case exploded in recent months following the
“Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story,” which dramatizes the real-life events of the case. A social media firestorm followed, with posts about the case and show amassing millions of views on TikTok.
During the press conference, Gascón said the resentencing recommendation was by no means a unanimous decision, as the prosecutors who reviewed the case had mixed opinions on how to handle it.
Gascón highlighted the brothers’ good behavior in prison as a significant factor in his resentencing recommendation. He pointed out that many convicts in their position — serving life without the possibility of parole — quickly turn to misbehavior and violence rather than the path of self-improvement and redemption.
Specifically, Gascón said the brothers made a commitment to helping their fellow inmates, including those with untreated trauma and others who live with physical disabilities.