Prosecutors are recommending that Erik and Lyle Menendez be resentenced

Prosecutors have recommended that Lyle and Erik Menendez be formally retried for the 1989 murders of their parents.

On Thursday, October 24, 2024, Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón announced plans to recommend that the brothers, now in their 50s, be resentenced to 50 years to life in prison for the murders of Kitty and José Menendez . Because the men were 18 and 21 when they admittedly shot their parents in their Beverly Hills home, they would be “immediately eligible for parole” under California law.

Gascón – who is up for re-election later this year – said at the news conference that prosecutors remained divided over the decision, saying it was not a “general agreement.”

“There are people in the office who strongly believe that the Menendez brothers should remain in prison for the rest of their lives, and they do not believe that they were abused,” Gascón said. “I have to tell you that after a very careful review of all the arguments that have been made for people on both sides of this equation, I have reached a point where I believe that resentencing is appropriate under the law.”

Prosecutor George Gascón says he believes Lyle and Erik Menendez's allegations of abuse

Thursday's announcement came three weeks after Gascón announced a “reassessment” of the case, saying: “There is no question that today there would have been a greater degree of sensitivity to the way the case was viewed.”

The men admitted to throwing a pair of shotguns at their parents, but have long maintained that they did so after years of alleged physical and sexual abuse, as described in the original Peacock documentary Menendez + Menudo: Betrayed Boys.

“I want to emphasize that these were terrible acts,” Gascón told reporters on Thursday. “There is no excuse for murder, and I will never claim that we are here to excuse their behavior, because even if you are being mistreated, the right thing to do is to call the police and seek help.” But I understand that people are desperate.”

The prosecutor said he believes Erik and Lyle were subjected to “a tremendous amount of dysfunction” and harassment at the Menendez home in the months and years before the murders.

However, he praised the men for their righteous behavior in prison and for “committing themselves” to a journey of redemption and rehabilitation without the expectation of ever leaving. He noted that several corrections officials supported the brothers' resentencing.

“You have been in prison for almost 35 years,” Gascón continued. “I believe they have paid their debt to society.”

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Jose and Kitty Menendez's family is offering support

The brothers' first of two trials in 1993 included much about the alleged sexual abuse they suffered at the hands of their father, allegations that were revisited in the 2023 docuseries Menendez + Menudo: Betrayed Boys. The sensational trial ended with a hung jury, and in a second trial that sharply limited the abuse allegations, both men were convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

In recent years, the case has gained enormous public support thanks to changing attitudes about how society views victims of sexual abuse. Recent documentaries, scripted shows, TikTok videos and a viral commentary from celebrity Kim Kardashian have helped keep the case in the spotlight.

The brothers have never denied killing their parents, but given the alleged abuse, many believe they should have been convicted of lesser charges such as manslaughter instead.

“I think it's important that we remember that two people are no longer alive and their families have been devastated by this tragedy and that I am at the center. I’m the one responsible for this,” Erik Menendez said The Hollywood Reporter earlier this month. “I don’t want that to be diminished or minimized in any way by people who support me and believe in me.”

A hearing for the men had already been scheduled for Nov. 29, 2024, more than a year after defense attorneys filed a habeas corpus petition seeking to overturn the men's sentences. The application followed the revelations of Menendez + Menudo: Betrayed Boys that Jose Menendez allegedly abused 14-year-old boy band member Roy Rosselló, and the resurfacing of a letter written before the double murder 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 because they believe the parents abused the boys.

“This step gives us all hope that the truth will finally come to light,” VanderMolen said at Thursday’s press conference. “And Erik and Lyle can finally recover from the horrors of the past.”

Find out more about the case in the original series Menendez + Menudo: Betrayed Boysnow available to stream on Peacock.