Los Angeles, CA – A judge is set to decide whether to proceed with resentencing hearings for Erik and Lyle Menendez, who were convicted of murdering their parents in 1989. The decision comes after Los Angeles County’s new district attorney, Nathan Hochman, opposed the brothers’ release from prison after 30 years behind bars.
The brothers, now 50 and 49, have been serving life sentences without parole since they were teenagers. Their defense team argued that they acted out of self-defense due to years of abuse by their father, but prosecutors say the brothers killed their parents for a multimillion-dollar inheritance.
Last month, Hochman withdrew his request to reduce the brothers’ sentence to 50 years to life, citing concerns over their lack of admission to lies and deception during the trial. The brothers’ attorney, Mark Geragos, criticized Hochman’s decision as a “dog and pony show” that was irrelevant to the hearing.
The new district attorney’s opposition presents a major hurdle for the brothers, who were expected to be resentenced before the end of the month. The family’s support for their release has increased with the death of Milton Andersen, Kitty Menendez’s brother, last month.
Despite Hochman’s opposition, the brothers still have two other pathways to freedom: a clemency plea to California Governor Gavin Newsom and a petition for habeas corpus, which will be heard in June.
Source: https://apnews.com/article/erik-lyle-menendez-brothers-murders-resentencing-california-873a403c67587df73df2db8a2568ac3d