Los Angeles District Attorney Says He’ll Recommend Resentencing in Decades-Old Menendez Brothers’ Murder Case

Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón said Thursday he’ll recommended that a judge resentence Lyle and Erik Menendez nearly 30 years after the brothers were convicted of the murders of their parents, Jose and Kitty, and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

He said he would file the paperwork for his recommendation Friday, and then the brothers’ case will go before a judge.

Joseph “Lyle” Menendez and Erik Menendez fatally shot their parents, entertainment company executive Jose Menendez and Kitty Menendez, with shotguns in their Beverly Hills home in 1989. The brothers were 21 and 18 years old at the time.

Defense attorneys for the brothers argued they were sexually abused by their father and, after two trials, they were convicted of murder and sentenced to life without parole.

The DA’s announcement comes three weeks after Gascón said his office was reviewing the case and would consider if they should be resentenced.

Gascón, who is seeking re-election next month, said then that “we have a moral and ethical obligation to review what has been presented to us.”

The evidence provided to Gascón’s office included a photocopy of a letter from one of the brothers to another family member that alleged sexual abuse, Gascón said.

Defense attorneys also provided evidence that one of the members of the Menudo boy band alleged he was sexually abused by Jose Menendez, Gascón said.

Roy Rosselló, a member of the pop group from 1983 to 1986, said on the 2023 Peacock series “Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed” that he was raped by Jose Menendez, who was then an executive at RCA.

Lyle and Erik Menendez alleged sexual abuse by their father at their first trial. That trial resulted in a mistrial after the juries deadlocked.

At the brothers’ second trial, the abuse allegations were limited in court. The brothers were convicted in 1996 of first-degree murder and sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.

Lyle Menendez is now 56 and Erik Menendez is now 53.

They filed petitions on both habeas grounds and also seeking a resentencing. A habeas petition argues that if certain evidence had been presented at trial, the outcome might have been different.

California law also allows a prosecutor to evaluate whether a person has been rehabilitated and then ask a court to determine if the individual should be resentenced, Gascón said.

via: NBC News

DA recommends that the Menendez Brothers should be resentenced & will be eligible for parole ??? pic.twitter.com/l4fV4eOZ3q

— Shannonnn sharpes Burner (PARODY Account) (@shannonsharpeee) October 24, 2024

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