Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón made the stunning decision to recommend resentencing for Lyle and Erik Menendez, potentially paving the way for the brothers' release if a judge approves.
"We're going to recommend to the court that the life without the possibility of parole be removed and that they will be sentenced for murder, which, because there are two murders involved, that would be 50 years to life," Gascón said in a press conference. "However, because of their age under the law, since they were under 26 years of age at the time that these crimes occurred, they will be eligible for parole immediately."
The DA's office is filing for resentencing on Friday. They are seeking a sentence of life with the possibility of parole rather than the current sentence of life without parole.
"We will file the actual petition requesting resentencing with the legal arguments and accompanying exhibits as to why we think it's appropriate," Gascón said. "It's just a filing. No one's going to physically be in the courtroom."
Lyle, now 56, and Erik, 53, have spent three decades behind bars.
The brothers gunned down their parents, José and Kitty Menendez with 14 shots as the couple sat watching TV in the den of their Beverly Hills home on August 20, 1989.
The duo shot José five times, including once at point-blank range with a shotgun aimed at the back of his head. As Kitty attempted to crawl away, Lyle shot her in the face with a shotgun. In total, she was shot nine times.
Lyle, who was then 21, and Erik, then 18, admitted they shot-gunned their entertainment executive father and their mother, but said they feared their parents were about to kill them to prevent the disclosure of the father's long-term sexual molestation of Erik.
On February 2, 1996, the jury convicted both brothers of first-degree murder, and they received life sentences without the possibility of parole. The verdict highlighted the complexity of the case and the differing views on justice and mental health issues in the context of violent crime.
In 2005, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals denied the Menendez brothers' habeas petition, leading them to resign themselves to spending their lives behind bars.
The court reviewed the evidence step by step, focusing on whether the abuse showed the brothers feared for their lives when they killed their parents. They concluded it did not. While the brothers may have felt a generalized fear, it didn't justify self-defense. Instead, they acted in preemptive strikes.
Thirty-five years later, it fell to Gascón to decide the next steps for Lyle and Erik. After more than a year of reviewing new evidence, he moved forward with a resentencing recommendation for the brothers.
"The two young men have spent 35 years in prison. They have allegedly done everything they've been asked to do, including going to college and working as mentors for others," Gascón told Newsweek. "They have also completed extensive rehabilitative work."
The decision wasn't without controversy; Gascón's push for resentencing Lyle and Erik faced division within his own office, with some staff members opposed to the move.
"I tell you unequivocally that we don't have a universal agreement," Gascón said.
Gascón continued, "There are people in the office that strongly believe that the Mendez brothers should stay in prison the rest of their life, and they do not believe that they were molested. And there are people in the office that strongly believe that they should be released immediately."
It is now in the hands of the judge and he has 30 to 45 days to make a decision. The judge can either uphold, reject or modify the sentence.
Gascón faces a contentious reelection bid for District Attorney on November 5, but regardless of the outcome, his resentencing recommendation for the Menendez brothers, issued Thursday, will stand.
"There's nothing political about this," Gascón said. "We have resentenced over 300 people, including 28 for murder, and we will continue to resentence people in the future. "Once it's filed, it's filed. It's up to the court to take it from there."
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