Menendez Brothers: Decision on resentencing recommendation announced
Menendez Brothers: FULL PRESS CONFERENCE
LA County DA George Gascón said prosecutors will recommend that the brothers' sentence of life without parole be rescinded, and they be re-sentenced for the pair of murder convictions, meaning a maximum of 50 years to life in prison. He said that due to their ages at the time of the crime, they would be automatically eligible for parole.
LOS ANGELES - BREAKING UPDATE: Menendez Brothers: Resentencing recommended by LA DA Gascón
LA County District Attorney George Gascón has recommended that Erik and Lyle Menendez be resentenced after spending 35 years behind bars, though a judge will have to make the ultimate decision.
The brothers have been serving life sentences without parole for the killings of their parents Jose and Kitty Menendez in 1989 in Beverly Hills.
Gascón told media his office was split on the decision - with one group linked to the original trial set on keeping the brothers in prison, while the other group believes the brothers deserve another chance due to the sexual assault allegations.
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This comes weeks after Gascón held a press conference revealing his office was reevaluating the case after "new evidence" came to light. One piece of evidence was a letter Erik allegedly wrote to his cousin Andy Cano. According to the brothers' attorneys, Cano's mom found the letter nine years ago. Cano testified at trial that Erik had told him about his father's abuse when Erik was 13. Cano died in 2003.
The second piece of evidence being reviewed was a sworn statement from a former member of the Puerto Rican boy band Menudo, who claimed he was abused by José Menendez as a teenager.
Last week, nearly two dozen relatives of the brothers held a joint press conference calling for the release of Erik and Lyle.
"They've spent over 35 years in prison. If they were the Menendez sisters, they would not be in custody. We have evolved," said Erik and Lyle's defense attorney, Mark Geragos.
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Joan Andersen VanderMolen, sister of Kitty Menendez, called the pair's actions "tragic," but the "desperate response of two boys trying to survive the unspeakable cruelty of their father."
"I had no idea the extent of the abuse they suffered at the hands of my brother-in-law. None of us did," she added. "We know that abuse has long effects, and victims of trauma sometimes act in ways that are very difficult to understand."
Prosecutors at the time contended there was no evidence of any molestation. They said the sons were after their parents’ multimillion-dollar estate.
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"They tried to protect themselves the only way they knew how," Andersen said. "Instead of being seen as victims, they were vilified."
"They are no longer a threat to society," he continued.
The Menendez brothers have appealed their convictions multiple times over the years without success.
Their attorneys argue that because of society’s changing views on sexual abuse, that the brothers may not have been convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life without parole today.
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Interest in the case has recently been renewed by the release of Netflix's "Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story," and an upcoming documentary, in which the brothers will tell their side of the story.