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What's Next for Erik and Lyle Menendez after Los Angeles DA Recommends Resentencing?
Of Lyle and Erik Menendez spending decades behind bars, Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón said, "I believe that they have paid their debt to society."
Prosecutors have recommended that Lyle and Erik Menendez be officially resentenced for the 1989 murders of their parents.
On Thursday, October 24, 2024, Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón announced plans to recommend the brothers, now in their fifties, be resentenced to 50 years to life for the murders of Kitty and José Menendez. Since the men were 18 and 21 when they admittedly shot their parents to death in their Beverly Hills home they would be “eligible for parole immediately,” in accordance with California law.
Gascón — up for reelection later this year — said at the press conference that the District Attorney’s Office remained divided over the decision, saying it wasn’t “a universal agreement.”
“There are people in the office that strongly believe that the Menendez brothers should stay in prison for the rest of their lives, and they do not believe they were molested,” said Gascón. “I have to tell you that after a 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.”
When could Erik and Lyle Menendez be released?
The D.A. said he would file the recommendation the following day, on Friday, October 25, 2024, though a judge will have the final say on whether or not the brothers will be officially resentenced.
Gascón declined to comment when asked about the possibility of the brothers being released by Thanksgiving, noting that no court hearings have been set.
D.A. George Gascón says he believes Lyle and Erik Menendez's abuse claims
Thursday’s announcement comes three weeks after Gascón announced a “reevaluation” of the case, stating, “There is no question that today [there] would have been a greater level of sensitivity to the way the case was looked at.”
The men confessed to emptying a pair of shotguns into their parents, but have long maintained that they did so after years of alleged physical and sexual abuse, as detailed in the Peacock original documentary Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed.
“I want to underline, they were horrible acts,” Gascón told reporters on Thursday. “There is no excuse for murder, and I will never imply that what we’re doing here is to excuse [their] behavior because even if you get abused, the right path is to call the police, seek help. But I understand that people get desperate.”
The D.A. said he believes Erik and Lyle were “subjected to a tremendous amount of dysfunction” and molestation in the Menendez home in the months and years leading up to the murders.
However, he commended the men for their upstanding behavior in prison, being “engaged” on a journey of redemption, and rehabilitation with no expectation of ever leaving. He noted that multiple correctional officers supported the brothers' resentencing.
“They have been in prison for nearly 35 years,” Gascón continued. “I believe that they have paid their debt to society.”
Jose and Kitty Menendez's Family Offers Support
The brothers’ first of two trials in 1993 included much about the alleged sexual abuse they endured at the hands of their father, accusations revisited in the 2023 docuseries Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed. The sensationalized trial resulted in a hung jury, and a second trial that severely restricted abuse allegations saw both men convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
In recent years, thanks to shifting attitudes about how society views victims of sexual abuse, the case has garnered tremendous public support. Recent documentaries, scripted shows, TikTok videos, and a viral op-ed penned by celebrity Kim Kardashian, have helped the case stay close to the spotlight.
The brothers have never denied killing their parents, but given the alleged abuse, many believe they should have instead been convicted of lesser charges like manslaughter.
“I think that it is important that we remember that two people are no longer alive and families have been devastated by this tragedy and that I am at the center of it. I am the one responsible,” Erik Menendez told The Hollywood Reporter earlier this month. “I don’t want that to be diminished or minimized in any way by people that support me and believe in me.”
A hearing for the men was previously set for November 29, 2024, more than a year after defense attorneys filed a writ of habeas corpus to have the men’s sentences overturned. The motion followed revelations made in Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed that Jose Menendez allegedly abused 14-year-old boy band member Roy Rosselló and the resurfacing of a letter written before the double homicide in which Erik Menendez wrote to his cousin about his father’s alleged abuse.
Dozens of the Menendez brothers’ relatives, including Kitty Menendez’s sister, Joan VanderMolen, and Jose Menendez's niece, Anamaria Baralt, have supported the men since day one, believing the parents abused the boys.
“This step gives us all hope that truth will finally be heard,” VanderMolen said at Thursday’s press conference. “And Erik and Lyle can finally heal from the horrors of the past.”
Learn more about the case in the original series Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed, now available to stream on Peacock.
