Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón on Thursday called for the resentencing of brothers Erik and Lyle Menendez, who are serving life in prison without the possibility of parole for the high-profile 1989 murders of their parents in Beverly Hills.
“I came to a place where I believe that under the law, resentencing is appropriate,” the prosecutor said. “I am going to recommend that to a court tomorrow.”
The official said he would ask for a sentence of 50 years to life. Under the law, given that the brothers were under age 26 at the time of the crimes, they would be immediately eligible for youthful parole, Gascón said. A court will need to approve the resentencing recommendation before it is final.
The brothers were 18 and 21 when they killed their parents Kitty Menendez and José Menendez, a prominent entertainment executive.
The brothers originally argued they should be tried for manslaughter, claiming they killed their parents after a lifetime of sexual abuse from their father, who they said threatened to kill them to keep them quiet.
Family members celebrated the decision to seek resentencing, calling it a “brave and compassionate step.”
“This decision is not just a legal matter,” cousin Joan Andersen VanderMolen said on Thursday at the press conference. “It is a recognition of the abuse my cousins endured.”
The district attorney said his office was not in “universal agreement” about the resentencing decision, which took in consideration new evidence in the case, including a letter Erik wrote to a cousin about the alleged sexual abuse before the killing, and a member of the boy band Menudo claiming he too was abused by José.
The district attorney said Thursday the decision was not influenced by politics, and should underscore both the need to hear victims of abuse and punish those accused of murder.
“I want to underline, they were horrible acts,” Gascón said at the press conference. “There is no excuse for murder, and I will never imply that what we’re doing here is to excuse that behavior. Even if you get abused, the right path is to call the police, seek help. I understand also how people get desperate.”
Prosecutors originally argued the young men killed their parents in pursuit of their multi-million dollar estate. In the seven months between the killings and their arrest, the brothers spent lavishly, buying a Porsche sports car, $40,000 worth of clothes and a $15,000 Rolex watch.
After the first trial ended in a hung jury, the Menendez brothers were both convicted of murder and sentenced to life without parole in 1996.
Family members and celebrities have called for the release of the brothers, who they argue would’ve been treated differently in today’s judicial system thanks to a more robust consideration of sexual abuse claims.
In an October 3 essay, Kim Kardashian argued that the brothers’ abuse allegations were not fairly heard in court, and that the wider culture didn’t take their claims seriously enough.
“The trial and punishment these brothers received were more befitting a serial killer than two individuals who endured years of sexual abuse by the very people they loved and trusted,” Kardashian wrote.
Interest in the case has surged further in recent months, thanks to two Netflix programs, a documentary and a fictionalized version of the story, Ryan Murphy’s Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, as well as the re-release of an update in-depth book on the killings.
A 2023 docuseries on Peacock added further shades of grey to the case.
In Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed, Roy Rosselló, a former member of the Puerto Rican boy band sensation Menudo, claimed he was drugged and raped by José Menendez when he was a teenager.
The Menendez brothers will not appear in court tomorrow when the district attorney’s office asks for the resentencing, Gascón said.
Mark Geragos, an attorney for the Menendez brothers, told NBC Los Angeles he hopes he can get the brothers released before the end of the year.
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