Erik and Lyle Menendez are now eligible for parole or a request for mercy. Which means that now, 30 years after they have shot the parents mortally, they can be released before their deaths
Almost three decades after Erik and Lyle Menendez were sentenced to life imprisonment for the parents of their own parents, a California judge reopened a door that many thought would remain closed.
In a surprising decision on Tuesday, the Judge of the Los Angeles County County, Michael Jesic, reduced the penalty of perpetual prison brothers without parole for 50-year-old to perpetual-making them eligible for parole.
The decision is the latest turnaround in a case that captivated America for decades, with an army of online lawyers, family and supporters in recent years a campaign renewed by the brothers’ freedom, partly fueled by a wave of attention brought by a documentary series and a dramatic series of Netflix that tells the case.
Here’s what we know:
Who are the menendez brothers?
Lyle Menendez, 57, and her brother Erik Menendez, 54, spent most of her adult lives behind bars for the parents of her parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez at the family home in Beverly Hills in 1989.
The brothers, who were 21 and 18 when they fired fatal gunshots, were convicted of first -degree murder in a 1996 trial, more than two years after separate juries did not come to a verdict in the first trials.
The brothers admitted the murders, but argued that they acted in self -defense after years of sexual abuse by the father. Prosecutors claimed that the murders were motivated by the brothers’ desire to obtain a multimillionaire heritage.
What did the judge say?
Jesic’s decision means that the Menendez brothers are immediately eligible for parole under the California Law, because they committed the murders when they were under 26.
The judge said that although the brothers had committed a horrible crime, they deserved “a lot of credit for changing their lives.”
A letter from an arrest official in support of the new sentence was especially moving, the judge said.
The brothers have launched several programs in prison, including a support group to disabled and elderly prisoners, and raised more than $ 250,000 for a prison beautification initiative, according to previous court records.
“I am not saying that they should be released, it is not up to me to decide,” Jesic recalled, adding, “One day they must have this opportunity.”
What happens next?
The brothers now have at least two potential ways for freedom: parole, made possible by Tuesday’s new sentence; or the mercy, to which they had already presented a petition to the governor. Both ways would involve the state commission of parole and then Governor Gavin Newsom for the final decision.
A hearing of the Conditional Freedom Committee was already scheduled for June 13, as part of the previous mercy request. Newsom had asked the commission to consider and inform if the brothers would pose a non -reasonable risk to public safety if they were released.
It is not clear whether the June 13 hearing will also serve as a hearing for parole, or if this will require a separate process. CNN contacted California’s Department of Correction and Rehabilitation, which did not immediately clarify.
In the case of conditional freedom, the Council could deny the brothers’ request or recommend to the governor that parole was granted. If the board recommended parole, Newsom would have 120 days to act.
Regarding the consideration of the commission in the request for Clemency: psychological evaluations have already been made to each of the brothers, according to the details that arose during the hearing of the siblings of the siblings.
CNN contacted the governor’s office and the state-of-the-art conditioning commission to comment on Tuesday’s new sentence.
The new sentence and the request for mercy were not the only legal way that the brothers were following to guarantee their release. They had also filed a habeas corpus request to obtain a new trial.
Anamaria Baralt, left, cousin of Erik and Lyle Menendez, on the left, receives a hug when leaving the Los Angeles court after the brothers’ re-scent hearing on Tuesday. DAMIAN DOVARGANES/AP
Why do your supporters say they must be released?
Dozens of Menendez family members say Erik and Lyle have shown years of remorse and rehabilitation since they killed their parents. They also argue that the severity of the sentence should be reviewed due to a deeper cultural understanding of childhood sexual abuse since the murders.
The brothers’ request for liberation received a new momentum in 2023, when a former Boys Band Menudo member publicly accused José Menendez – at the time an important RCA Records executive – to have violated him in the mid -1980s.
In recent months, supporters from all over the country have gathered in rallies and hearings to defend the liberation of the brothers.
Prosecutors and the media have neglected the allegations of abuse and filed the siblings as arrogant and self-titled heirs of the ownership of 14 million dollars from parents during their judgments in the 1990s.
Diane Hernandez, a cousin who lived with the Menendez family, witnessed on Tuesday about Joseph’s intimidation, including a rigid “runner rule” that prevented other people from spending time with the brothers.
“Please be merciful,” said Diane, calling her brothers ‘notable human beings at this point’.
What did the brothers say?
“I am moved and humble with the support of support,” said Erik Menendez in a statement released to ABC News on Tuesday night after the decision.
“This has to be the first step to give people who have no hope in prison,” he said. “My goal is to ensure that there are no more people to spend 35 years in prison without hope. This possibility of hope that rehabilitation works is more important than anything that has happened today.”
On Tuesday, the brothers said they assumed “total responsibility” for the murders, when they attended the judge, from a distance, from prison.
“I committed an atrocious act against two people who had every right to live, my mother and father,” Erik verbalized, adding that he ‘created an overwhelming sadness’ for his family and that ‘there was no excuse’ for his behavior.
“I will never stop trying to make a difference, whether it is in or out of prison,” he added.
Lyle also admitted to killing her parents, saying that “was immature” and “full of anger.” “If I had trusted others to help me, I wouldn’t have committed these crimes,” he said. “I thought no one would believe me about my sexual abuse.”
What do those who oppose their liberation say?
Critics argue that the murders were calculated acts of greed rather than acts of despair of abuse victims.
Although the case of the brothers was defended by the former district attorney of Los Angeles County, the successor, Nathan Hochman, adopted a harder position against his release.
“The decision to condemn Erik and Lyle Menendez again was a monumental decision that has significant implications for the families involved, the community and the principles of justice,” Hochman said in a statement on Tuesday night. “The motions of our office to remove the motion of resentation presented by the previous administration assured that the Court was informed of all facts before making such an important decision.”
On Tuesday, Hochman told CNN that the brothers had “manufactured” allegations of abuse and should first take responsibility for their acts before they asked for parole.
“If and when they do, they will be ready for a new sentence,” he said.
Hochman also referred to the recent conclusion of risk assessments by the state commission of parole, according to which the brothers would pose a “moderate” risk of violence if they were released.
