Menendez brothers will be resentenced, Los Angeles district attorney announces

You are one step closer to freedom.

Lyle and Erik Menendez are being resentenced after spending more than 30 years behind bars for the gruesome 1989 murders of their parents Jose and Kitty. The case roiled the nation and spawned a popular Netflix series more than three decades later.

Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón announced Thursday that the brothers will be retried at a news conference attended by more than 300 journalists from around the world – and will recommend to the court that the killer siblings are eligible for parole.

The final decision will be left to a judge – but Gascón said the men – now in their 50s – have been on “a journey of redemption and rehabilitation” and have “paid their debt to society,” both for the time they served and everything they have done to improve the lives of others in prison.

Gascón revealed that his office was divided over whether the brothers should be given a chance at re-sentencing for the infamous murders, which he called “horrible acts.”

“There were people in the office who strongly believed that the Menedez brothers should remain in prison for the rest of their lives and did not believe that they were abused,” he said, even suggesting that some in his office appear in court could contradict the recommendation for resentencing.

“There are people in the office who believe they should be released immediately and have actually been abused,” he added.

“There is no excuse for murder, and I will never claim that we are here to excuse their behavior – because even if you are being mistreated, the right thing to do is to call the police and seek help.”

However, he acknowledged that abused people can sometimes “despair” and ultimately “murder their abuser out of desperation.”

If a judge agrees with Gascón's recommendation, re-sentencing the Menendez brothers for murder would mean their new parole-eligible sentences would change to 50 years to life in prison – 25 years for each murder.

However, because they were convicted under the age of 26, they would be immediately eligible for parole if convicted again under California's juvenile offender law.

After Gascón's remarks, Joan Vandermolen, Kitty's sister, took the microphone to praise the prosecutor for taking a “courageous and compassionate step forward” by recommending a resentencing.

“This decision is not just a legal matter. It's an acknowledgment of the abuse my cousins ​​endured… We know this wasn't an easy decision, but it was the right one. This is about truth, justice and healing.”

Reporters peppered Gascón with questions about his re-election, including accusations that he used the spectacle for political gain, which he denied. His office has made similar recommendations for 300 people and “will continue to do so in the future.”

Before today's press conference was announced, the brothers had a court date scheduled for Nov. 26, but it was not immediately known whether that has changed.

Familiar names, night food

The Menendez brothers' case has drawn new attention after new evidence was discovered that the brothers were allegedly serially abused by their father, and a campaign was launched to free the men led by family members and prominent supporters.

The brothers were sentenced to life without parole in 1996 for the brutal murders at the family's luxurious Beverly Hills home after a high-profile trial made Erik and Lyle – who were 21 and 18 at the time, respectively – household names and late-night punchline fodder.

Since then, her case has largely fallen out of the spotlight, but it recently came back into the public consciousness following the release of the Ryan Murphy-produced Netflix hit series “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story,” based on the double murders.”

Last month, Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón announced that his office had been re-examining the brothers' case “for over a year” due to new evidence suggesting they engaged in routine sexual activity during their childhood were abused.

The key piece of evidence was a bombshell note Erik allegedly wrote to his now-deceased cousin Andy Cano just months before the murders, about living in fear of his father's alleged abuse.

“I tried to avoid dad. It’s still happening Andy, but it’s worse for me now,” the handwritten letter read in part.

“I never know when it's going to happen and it drives me crazy. Every night I stay awake thinking he might come in.”

Roy Rosselló, a former member of the Puerto Rican boy band Menudo, has also come forward claiming he was sexually abused by Jose Menendez as a 14-year-old.

Earlier this month, more than 20 members of Jose and Kitty's families held a news conference in Los Angeles to call for the men to be resentenced, arguing that their sexual abuse was not adequately considered in the trial.

Their first trial ended with a hung jury, but in the second trial, in which both men were convicted of first-degree murder, the judge ruled that any evidence that the boys had been abused was inadmissible.

Family members have complained, claiming that such evidence was excluded only because sexual abuse against men and boys was taken less seriously at the time.

Vandermolen, the brothers' aunt, pointed out that society has changed dramatically since the men stood trial and that no court would reject credible allegations of sexual abuse just because the defendants were men.

“No jury today would impose such a harsh sentence without taking her trauma into account. Lyle and Erik paid a heavy price – rejected by a system that failed to recognize their pain. They’ve grown, they’ve changed, and they’ve become better men despite everything they’ve been through.”

Prominent attorney Mark Geragos, who represents the brothers, enthusiastically echoed that sentiment.

“If it were the Menendez sisters, they wouldn’t be in custody. We have evolved and it is time for them to be released.”

Geragos also praised the men for being exemplary inmates during their long time in the big house and praised Erik and Lyle, now 53 and 56, for working to remain productive and advance themselves by earning academic degrees acquired, started programs and mentored younger prisoners.

The lawyer, whose clients over the years have included Michael Jackson, Chris Brown, Colin Kaepernick and Jussie Smollett, also pushed back against claims from some critics that Gascón is using the case to raise his profile as he prepares for an uphill battle Re-election bid next month.

The campaign to free the brothers was supported by a group of prominent figures, including Kim Kardashian and Rosie O'Donnell.