Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón announced Thursday that he is recommending convicted murderers Erik and Lyle Menendez be resentenced, 35 years after they killed their parents in their Beverly Hills home.
Speaking at a press conference Thursday, Gascón said that while not everyone in his office supports resentencing the Menendez brothers, it is his belief that they have served enough time behind bars and are no longer a threat to society.
"They have been in prison for nearly 35 years," he said. "I believe that they have paid their debt to society and the system provides a vehicle for their case to be reviewed by a parole board. And if the parole concurs with my assessment — and it will be their decision — they will be released accordingly."
"I must underline, however, this case will be filed in court tomorrow," Gascón continued. "The final decision will be made by the judge. Court has to agree with my conclusion that they deserve to be resentenced. It is very possible that there may be members of this office that will be present in court opposing their resentencing, and they have a right to do so."
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The Menendez brothers were found guilty in the 1989 murders of Jose and Kitty Menendez and were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Lyle and Erik, who were 21 and 18 years old at the time of the killings, contend that they killed their parents after years of sexual abuse. Prosecutors, however, argued that they were motivated by money, as Jose Menendez was a wealthy record company executive.
Last week, more than a dozen relatives of the Menendez brothers held a press conference in downtown Los Angeles, calling on Gascón to consider re-sentencing the brothers because of new evidence — including a letter written by Erik Menendez, alluding to abuse he endured prior to 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," said Joan Andersen VanderMolen, sister to Kitty Menendez. "We know that abuse has long effects, and victims of trauma sometimes act in ways that are very difficult to understand."
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Both Menendez brothers, now in their 50s, remain incarcerated at California's RJ Donovan Correctional Facility, according to the California Department of Corrections. In the decades since their arrest, their case has continued to transfix the true-crime world — most recently with a Netflix series titled "Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story," which premiered last month.