After Los Angeles County’s top prosecutor was fired earlier this month and suggested a fresh sentencing that would allow the brothers’ release, Erik and Lyle Menendez’s attempts to shorten their life sentences without the possibility of parole have been put on hold.
After a court decided on Monday that a resentencing hearing scheduled for December 11 should be postponed in part to allow the county’s new district attorney to review the case, that uncertainty will persist for the time being.
The hearing was delayed for January 30 and January 31 by Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic, who also stated that he needed additional time to consider the recommendation.
Nathan Hochman, the new district attorney, said in a statement following the hearing that the postponement would give him enough time to examine what he called a large case file and confer with defense attorneys, prosecutors, and family members.
“To reach a fair and just decision, I look forward to carefully examining all the facts and the law, and then defending it in court,” he stated.
The brothers were due to appear in court for the first time in years, but technical difficulties prevented the remote feed from the San Diego prison where they are housed. A lawyer for the siblings described the brief news conference as “impassioned pleas” for Erik and Lyle to be released home after two of their aunts testified during Monday’s status conference.
On Monday, Erik’s stepdaughter stated that their family is still working together to bring the siblings home. She stated in a statement that although the judge’s postponement was not “the outcome we had hoped for,” “we remain optimistic that it represents a step forward in securing their freedom.”
The siblings were sentenced to 35 years in prison for the August 20, 1989, shotgun killings of their parents, Jos and Kitty Menendez, in their Beverly Hills residence.
George Gasc, the departing Los Angeles County District Attorney, stated last month that he was in favor of lowering their sentences to 50 years to life, which would immediately qualify them for parole.
It is up to the court to decide whether to accept or reject Gasc’s ruling.
Following a review of the brothers’ case by a specialized section inside Gasc’s office that works to apply reform-minded resentencing statutes, the recommendation was made.
The brothers have been exemplary inmates, despite the fact that Gascn has admitted that their crimes were ruthless and planned. He claimed that they are no longer a threat to public safety since they have paid their obligation to society.
Many members of the Mendendez family, who had argued for the men’s release and cited the horrifying abuse the siblings claimed they endured at the hands of their father, praised Gasc’s decision.
In line with the defense presented by the brothers’ legal team during their two murder trials in the 1990s, the brothers’ supporters have characterized the killings as a desperate act of self-defense.
The accusations of abuse, according to the prosecution, were a fabricated attempt to conceal what the authorities said was the brothers’ real goal: to gain access to their family’s multimillion-dollar estate.
Because the jurors were unable to reach a majority decision, the first trial resulted in a hung jury. At their second trial, the brothers were found guilty of first-degree murder.
Gasc has admitted that his suggestion is still divisive inside his own office, with some prosecutors accepting the abuse claims and others contending the brothers ought to spend the rest of their life in prison.
The brothers have requested their release in addition to a resentencing by petitioning California Governor Gavin Newsom for clemency and challenging their convictions.
Geragos has interpreted the petition, which was submitted in May 2023, as proof that Jos Menendez was assaulting Erik Menendez in the months prior to the siblings’ murder of their parents.
Both initiatives are still in progress.
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