A Los Angeles prosecutor stated on Thursday he’s asking the court docket to re-sentence Erik and Lyle Menendez after they’ve spent greater than 30 years in jail for the shotgun homicide of their dad and mom, after new proof emerged indicating they had been sexually abused by their father for years.
The advice raises the likelihood that the brothers might be launched on parole.
“I consider that below the legislation, resentencing is suitable and I’m going to suggest that to a court docket tomorrow,” Los Angeles County District Lawyer George Gascón informed a information convention.
Gascón stated he would suggest that their life sentences be eliminated and changed with a sentence of fifty years to life, however that they’d be eligible for parole due to their younger age on the time of the murders.
“I consider they’ve paid their debt to society,” Gascón stated, noting their good behaviour in jail.
However he stated different prosecutors inside his workplace opposed their launch and may argue in an upcoming listening to in favour of maintaining them in jail.
It was not instantly clear how lengthy it could take the court docket to rule.
The Menendez brothers, now 56 and 53, had been convicted after the second of two extremely publicized trials that captivated the US on the time due to their wealth and privilege because the sons of a report firm and leisure trade government.
Jose Menendez was shot behind the top and Kitty Menendez was shot 15 instances at their Beverly Hills residence. Lyle was 21 and Erik was 18 on the time.
Months of talks between prosecutors, defence
A latest Netflix collection dramatizing their story revived curiosity within the case, however for greater than a yr defence attorneys have been in talks with prosecutors about vacating the sentence or looking for a brand new trial, citing new proof that got here to gentle supporting the brothers’ declare they’d been molested for years.
Of their first trial, which was televised and led to a hung jury, the brothers testified they had been sexually mistreated by each dad and mom for years and had been appearing in self defence, and that their father threatened to kill them in the event that they revealed the abuse.
Prosecutors argued the pair had been looking for their dad and mom’ multimillion-dollar fortune.
A jury convicted them in a second trial in Los Angeles County Superior Court docket that was not televised, however that very same jury additionally spared them the loss of life penalty, choosing life in jail with out parole.
Gascón has stated there isn’t a doubt the brothers killed their dad and mom, however cited new proof, together with a letter Erik Menendez purportedly wrote to a cousin eight months earlier than the murders wherein he described the abuse. Had the proof been offered at trial, the jury might have reached a distinct consequence, he stated.
Gascón stated he nonetheless thought of the murders “horrible acts,” including, “There isn’t any excuse for homicide.”
Investigators are also analyzing allegations from a member of the Nineteen Eighties pop band Menudo who stated he was abused by Jose Menendez. These allegations had been publicized final yr in Peacock documentary collection referred to as Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed.
Gascón additionally stated he was involved by feedback from a member of the prosecution workforce on the time that males couldn’t be raped. “For the reason that authentic prosecution … our workplace has gained a deeper understanding of the complexities surrounding sexual violence,” he stated in an announcement.
DA’s election challenger questions timing
Gascón beforehand stated he would wait till a Nov. 26 court docket listening to to decided on the case, however he sped up the choice given the extreme public curiosity.
He additionally faces a tough re-election battle towards challenger Nathan Hochman on Nov. 5.
Hochman on Thursday questioned the timing of Gascón’s announcement, coming lower than two weeks earlier than the election and calling it a “determined political transfer.”
He stated he’s unable to type his personal opinion on the case with out entry to confidential data and related witnesses.
“If I grow to be DA and the case continues to be pending at the moment, I’ll conduct a evaluate per how I’d evaluate any case,” Hochman stated.
Gascón on Thursday denied politics had any function, saying his workplace has re-sentenced 332 different convicts as half his coverage of addressing “over-incarceration.”
