With Decision on Menendez Brothers Resentencing Days Away, DA Says They're Not a Danger to Society (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Los Angeles County District AttorneyGeorge Gascónsays he will make a decision on whether or not to recommend resentencing forErik and Lyle Menendezin a matter of days — and that the brothers are not a danger to society.

“Based on everything that I know, I don’t believe that they are,” Gascón tells PEOPLE. “Quite frankly, they probably haven’t been for a very long time, if they ever were. I think this is not like they were going around killing people or robbing people on the street."

“I’ll be listening to not only the briefing, but recommendations from both teams,” he says. “That also plays a role. Because they’re not just sort of an agnostic presenter. They’re going to be presenting what they think should be the outcome. I expect one will be saying, ‘No relief,’ one will be saying, ‘Yes, provide relief,’ and I’ll evaluate both of them.”

While Gascón can issue a recommendation on resentencing, a judge will ultimately make the final decision.

“There are some people in my office that believe that there is no evidence of molestation. I don’t agree with that, but that’s certainly the position that some people have taken, and they believe that they should stay in prison the rest of their life,” he says. “There are other people in the office that believe that there’s probably some evidence of molestation and there is additionally evidence of rehabilitation. So, I mean, certainly we have some issues."

“If in fact they have rehabilitated as is being alleged, and we’re reviewing all of that, they have been in prison for almost 35 years," he says. “Thirty-five years is a long time to be in prison. And especially when you look at the circumstances behind this case, it just seems to me that at some point there has to be a place for redemption and rehabilitation. But again, whether I believe that they should or shouldn’t be in prison the rest of their life, it’s not necessarily what is going to alter my final decision. My final decision is going to be really evaluating the law.”

Last week,family membersof the siblings held a press conference in front of the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in Downtown Los Angeles asking for the district attorney’s office to free the brothers.

At the press conference, numerous family members cited the sex abuse the brothers have claimed they endured at the hands of Jose. The relatives said the brothers were victims, not murderers.

Lyle and Eric Menendez.CDCR/MEGA

CDCR/MEGA

“From the very beginning, I believed that Lyle and Erik were victims of their father’s abuse,” saidKaren VanderMolen,niece of Kitty Menendez. “No child should ever have to endure what they did. Their father’s abuse shattered their lives, and the court’s failure to recognize their trauma only compounded that tragedy. I can’t help but think how different things might have been if the world had known the truth back then.”

Lyle, Erik, Kitty and Jose Menendez.abc

abc

After the press conference, Gascón’s office met with family members but Gascón himself did not.

“I personally am not talking to anyone,” he says.

Since May of 2023, Gascón’s office has been reviewing a Habeas Corpus petition that attorneys for the brothers filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, citing new evidence in the case.

Gascón previously addressed the petition at a press conference on Thursday, Oct. 3, saying that his office was “keeping an open” mind aboutthe Menendez brothers’bid for release.

Acknowledging that the brothers “were clearly the murderers,” Gascón, who is up for reelection in November, said his office had “a moral and an ethical obligation to review what is being presented to us” and to determine if such evidence could have swayed jurors away from first-degree murder convictions.

Joan Andersen VanderMolen (C), Kitty Menendez' sister, and Karen VanderMolen, Kitty Menendez' niece (R), sit at a press conference outside the Criminal Courts Building on October 16, 2024 in Los Angeles, California.Mario Tama/Getty Images

Mario Tama/Getty Images

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.

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Jose, 45, was hit multiple times, including point blank in the head. Kitty, 47, was shot multiple times, including once in the face.

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

If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.

source: people.com