Menendez brothers get leniency from prosecutor after 34 years in prison

Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón will seek reduced sentences for Lyle and Erik Menendez, the brothers who murdered their parents Jose and Kitty in 1989.

Gascón's office will ask a Los Angeles judge to reduce the sentences from life without the possibility of parole to 50 years to life. If approved, the Menendez brothers could be eligible for immediate parole.

At a press conference, Gascón said he came to his decision after “careful consideration.”

“I have come to the point where I believe that resentencing is appropriate under the law,” he said, noting that they have taken steps to rehabilitate themselves in prison. “You have been in prison for almost 35 years. I believe they have paid their debt to society.”

Anamaria Baralt, a cousin of the brothers, said at the news conference that she was “grateful” for Gascón's leadership and that the family hopes the brothers “get the justice they deserve and finally come home.”

A judge must still agree to the prosecutor's request, although the prosecutor's position will be given significant weight. If the lower sentence is approved, the Menendez brothers would have to go before the state Board of Parole Hearings to decide whether they are suitable for release.

Gascón said there is a dispute within his office over whether to seek a resentencing and that prosecutors in his office may want to argue against it at a hearing. A status conference regarding the request must be scheduled within 30 days.

“It can happen quickly if the judge is willing to put the matter on the calendar,” said Bess Stiffelman, an attorney who handles post-conviction matters in L.A. “If the prosecutor makes the recommendation, the judge would probably accept it.”

The judge would also have to give Menendez's family members an opportunity to be heard. Numerous relatives have said they support the brothers' release, but Kitty's brother Milton Andersen opposes the release.

Andersen's attorney, Kathleen Cady, criticized Gascón for not keeping Andersen informed of developments.

“Mr. Andersen believes justice was served when the jury found Erik and Lyle Menendez guilty of multiple counts of murder for financial gain and the judge sentenced them to life in prison without the possibility of parole,” Cady wrote briefly on Tuesday to the court.

The judge could deny the request if he finds the brothers pose a danger to the community, but that's a high hurdle.

The Menendez brothers have been behind bars for more than 34 years. Since they were 18 and 21 years old at the time of the murders, the brothers are considered “youthful offenders” and would be immediately eligible for parole if they were sentenced again to 50 years to life in prison.

Gascón, who has a strong chance of being re-elected on November 5, has publicly reflected on the case in recent weeks. At an earlier news conference and in several national television interviews, he said the brothers appeared to be well-behaved in prison. He also said he took seriously allegations that the brothers were sexually abused by their father.

“Given the totality of the circumstances, I don't believe they deserve to stay in prison until their death,” he told ABC News.

The Association of Assistant District Attorneys, which represents prosecutors, criticized Gascón on Wednesday for his “obsession” with the Menendez case, saying he was “driven by his desire for television appearances.”

“During his disastrous tenure as prosecutor, Gascón has always prioritized celebrity cases over the rights of crime victims, showing more interest in being in the spotlight than in pursuing justice,” said Michele Hanisee, president of the association.

In the event of a defeat on November 5th, Gascón would remain in office until his successor Nathan Hochman is sworn in on December 2nd. If the motion was still pending at that point, Hochman could request that it be withdrawn – but the judge would not have allowed him to do so.

The announcement came after years of legal wrangling and attempts by the brothers to present what they said were new evidence in the case.

The Netflix series “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story” – co-created by Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan – was released on September 19th and became an instant viral sensation, bringing renewed attention to the case. Netflix's companion documentary, The Menendez Brothers, which features interviews with Lyle and Erik, immediately debuted at No. 1 on Netflix's Top 10 following its release on October 7th.

At an Oct. 16 press conference called by members of the Menendez family and the brothers' lawyers, they appealed to Gascón to examine new evidence, including a letter Erik wrote to a cousin alleging abuse his father went.

The defense, led by attorney Mark Geragos, also argued that the testimony of Roy Rossello, a member of the boy band Menudo – who has accused Jose Menendez of sexually abusing him when he was 13 or 14 – would have changed the outcome of the trial. Last year, Rossello's claims were highlighted in the Peacock documentary Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed. The Menendez brothers were also interviewed from prison for these documentaries.

The Menendez brothers were tried twice. The first trial began in July 1993 – with two separate jurors – and became must-see viewing on Court TV. In January 1994, both jurors declared they were deadlocked and the trial was declared invalid. In the second experiment, cameras were excluded. The brothers were convicted of first-degree murder by a single jury in March 1996 and sentenced to life in prison without parole in July.

Although Geragos criticized “Monsters: The Story of Lyle and Erik Menendez,” calling it a “caricature,” he acknowledged that the backlash to the series helped bring attention to the case. Prominent advocates such as Kim Kardashian also called for the Menendez brothers' release.