Los Angeles County District Attorney Recommends Resentencing for Menendez Brothers. Will They Go Free?

Mar. 15, 2025

Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón will recommended thatErik and Lyle Menendez, who are serving life sentences for the shotgun murders of their parents Jose and Kitty more than 30 years ago, be resentenced.

Gascón announced on Thursday, Oct. 24, that his office will ask Los Angeles Superior Court judge to resentence Lyle, 56, and Erik, 53.

The announcement came shortly after nearly two dozen family members of the brothers called for their release from prison. Members of the Menendez family joined Gascón for the announcement at the Hall of Justice in downtown L.A.

George Gascón; Lyle Menendez; Erik Menendez.Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images, AP Photo/Nick Ut

Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images, AP Photo/Nick Ut

The case gained momentum in May 2023 when attorneys for the brothers filed ahabeas corpus petitionwith the Los Angeles County Superior Court, citing new evidence in the case.

Lyle and Erik Menendez.CDCR/MEGA

CDCR/MEGA

Gascón added, “If there was evidence that was not presented to the court at that time, and had that evidence been presented, perhaps a jury would have come to a different conclusion.”

At the time, he said his office was “keeping an open mind” about their bid for release.

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More recently, in an episode ofIMPACT x Nightlinetitled “Menendez Brothers: Monsters or Victims?” streaming on Hulu on Thursday, Oct. 17, Gascón said he believed the brothers shouldn’t be in prison for the rest of their lives.

“Given the totality of the circumstances, I don’t think they deserve to be in prison until they die,” Gascón told co-anchor Juju Chang.

Kitty and Jose Menendez.ABC

ABC

Referencing Gascón, Los Angeles defense attorney Neama Rahmani told PEOPLE, “He’s in the middle of a highly contested election. Social media support for the Menendez brothers is through the roof. There are a lot of people that think that victims should have the right to stand up to their abusers. Now, there’s other people who think that this in vigilante justice, and this is beyond the pale, but they have a lot of support.”

Lyle was 21 and Erik was 18 when they fatally shot their parents using 12-gauge shotguns in the den of their Beverly Hills, Calif., home on Aug. 20, 1989.

However, prosecutors at the time said the two brothers’ motive was greed and cited their lavish spending spree after the slayings.

In 1996, three years after their first trial ended in a deadlock, the siblings were convicted of the first-degree murders and subsequently sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

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source: people.com