The LA District Attorney is recommending that the Menendez brothers be resentenced

Topline

The Los Angeles County district attorney will ask a judge Friday to convict Lyle and Erik Menendez — potentially giving the two brothers a chance to get out of prison after being sentenced to life in prison for killing their parents in the 1990s had been given the possibility of parole.

Important facts

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Crucial quote

“We are very confident not only that the brothers have been rehabilitated and can be safely reintegrated into our society, but also that they have made their contribution,” Gascón said.

Important background

The Menendez brothers were convicted of the murders of their parents Jose and Kitty, who were shot six and 10 times, respectively, in their home in August 1989. The brothers initially told police that they were not home at the time of the murders. but Erik finally confessed to his psychologist. The brothers did not deny killing their parents, but claimed they shot them out of fear for their lives after being sexually abused by their father. They also claimed their mother was addicted to alcohol and drugs and enabled her husband to abuse the boys. The first trials – in which each brother was tried individually – were big headlines and contained evidence of the brothers' abuse, but both ended in mistrials. In the second trial, when they stood trial together, the judge did not allow much of the abuse evidence to be admitted and said the “abuse excuse” argument was not admissible, The New York Times reported, leading to the couple was first convicted of aggravated murder and sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.

News Peg

The Menendez brothers' story came back into the mainstream through Murphy's Netflix series Monsters. The show “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story” focused on their relationship and was the most-watched series on Netflix for two weeks in a row before falling to second, third and fourth positions in subsequent weeks with a total of 506.5 million hours watched from September 23rd to October 20th. The series caused controversy primarily because it depicted the brothers in an incestuous relationship – although both denied having a sexual relationship. Responding to criticism over the decision to portray the relationship, Murphy said: “There are people who say that never happened, there were people who said it did happen.”

Further reading

ForbesProsecutors may support a re-sentencing of the Menendez brothers today – as the controversial “Monster” remains high on the Netflix chartsFrom Mary Whitfill RoeloffsAP NewsProsecutors are recommending that Erik and Lyle Menendez be resentenced for the 1989 murders of their parents
AP NewsProsecutors are recommending that Erik and Lyle Menendez be resentenced for the 1989 murders of their parents