On Tuesday, Erik and Lyle Menendez were resentenced to 50 years to life in prison, making them immediately eligible for parole after having already served 35 years behind bars. Judge Michael Jesic acknowledged progress in the rehabilitation of the two, supported by family members, former magistrates and prison officials. The new trial, however, will still be very long, and experts say it could last several years.
The Menendez brothers have not been granted a new trial as their lawyers had been requesting, but their legal team has been pursuing multiple avenues in the meantime to secure their release.
Lyle and Erik Menendez were initially sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the 1989 murder of their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez. It was an affair that shocked America, recently retold in a Netflix series that has achieved worldwide success and which many believe contributed in no small part to the reopening of the case.
“I am touched and humbled by the outpouring of support”, Erik Menendez said on Tuesday, “My goal is to ensure there are no more people spending 35 years in prison without hope. That possibility of having hope that rehabilitation works is more important than anything that happened to me today.”
The brothers followed Tuesday’s highly anticipated validation hearing of the new verdict via video conference from prison and gave their statements to Judge Michael Jesic. “I killed my mom and dad,” Lyle Menendez told the judge. “I give no excuses.” Erik added, “I committed an atrocious act, my actions were criminal, selfish and cowardly. … No excuse. No justification for what I did.” Both men also admitted that they had told several lies about the affair in question over the years.
After the hearing, the brothers’ lawyer, Mark Geragos, said: “”I’m hopeful and glad that we’re one huge step closer to bringing the boys home. This encourages people who are incarcerated to make the right decisions, to take the right path. It’s just a win-win on so many levels.”
During the hearing Tuesday, Geragos called several relatives of the Menendezes to testify, including Anamaria Baralt, one of their cousins. Baralt told prosecutors that the brothers took full responsibility for the crimes and that Lyle Menendez admitted asking a witness to lie during the trial.
“They are very different men than when they committed the murders”, she said, “their transformation is remarkable.”
Judge Jesic’s decision to review the brothers’ sentence follows a request made in the fall by then Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón. The latter had recommended removing the Menendezes’ sentence of life without parole and sentencing them for murder, which carries a sentence of 50 years to life in prison. Because both brothers were under the age of 26 at the time of the crimes, they are eligible for immediate parole under California law.
In November, Gascón was replaced by Nathan Hochman, who in March filed a motion to withdraw his request for a new sentence, calling the brothers’ self-defense claims part of a series of “lies.” However, the judge rejected his request. Now, the next hearing to complete the process of reevaluation in the “Menendez case” has been set for June 13 when the California Board of Parole Hearings will determine whether they are suitable for immediate release.
