Menendez Brothers: Resentencing recommended by LA DA Gascón
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LA County DA George Gascón said prosecutors will recommend that the brothers' sentence of life without parole be rescinded, and they be re-sentenced for the pair of murder convictions, meaning a maximum of 50 years to life in prison.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 - After serving more than three decades in prison, the Menendez brothers could be getting a second chance.
Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón announced Thursday he recommends Erik and Lyle Menendez, who have been serving life sentences without parole for the killings of their parents Jose and Kitty Menendez in 1989, be resentenced.
"I have to tell you unequivocally that we don't have a universal agreement. There are people in the office, they strongly believe that the man and his brothers should stay in prison for the rest of their life, and they do not believe that they were molested," the DA said. "And there are people in the office, who strongly believe that they should be released immediately and that they were, in fact, molested. I have to tell you that after very careful review of all the arguments that were made for people on both sides of this equation, I came to a place where I believe that under the law, resentencing is appropriate."
"And I am going to recommend that to a court tomorrow," Gascón continued. "What that means in this particular case is that we are going to recommend to the court that the life without the possibility of parole be removed, and that there will be sentence for murder, which because there are two murders involved, there will be 50 years to life. However, because of their age under the law, since they were under 26 years of age at the time that these crimes occurred, they will be eligible for parole immediately."
"There is no excuse for murder. And I will never imply that what we're doing here is to excuse our behavior," the DA said. "Because even if you get abuse, the right path is to call the police, seek help. But I understand also, how sometimes people get desperate."
This comes after an investigation spurred by new evidence presented to the DA's office—recently revealed allegations that their father also molested Roy Rossello, a former member of the boy band Menudo, in the 1980s, and a letter Erik Menendez wrote to his cousin, Andy Cano, which surfaced in 2015, years after Cano's death.
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Now a judge will ultimately decide whether to accept or reject Gascón's recommendation within the next 30 days.
Menendez Brothers could be eligible for parole immediately
Gascón said he plans to recommend a judge re-sentence Erik and Lyle Menendez, who are serving life prison terms without the possibility of parole for killing their parents in their Beverly Hills mansion in 1989. If resentenced, the brothers could be eligible for parole immediately.
If the judge accepts a recommendation of resentencing with time served, it is possible the Menendez brothers could be out of prison by Nov. 26, which was their originally scheduled court date.
Their defense attorney, Mark Geragos, said if all goes well, Erik and Lyle would be home by Thanksgiving.
"They've spent over 35 years in prison. If they were the Menendez sisters, they would not be in custody. We have evolved," he said.
Last week, nearly two dozen relatives of the brothers held a joint press conference pushing for the release of Erik and Lyle.
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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."
They were 21 and 18 at the time of the murders.
"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.