Erik and Lyle Menendez could be freed from prison as L.A. district attorney recommends resentencing. Here's what happens next.
Prosecutors officially recommended Erik and Lyle Menendez be resentenced for the 1989 murders of their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez. The brothers have spent 34 years behind bars for the killings.
Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón made the announcement Thursday after weeks of speculation and admitted his office was divided. The case has been thrust back into the public eye thanks to Ryan Murphy's hit Netflix series Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.
"After a very careful review of all the arguments that were made [from both sides], I came to a place where I believe under the law resentencing is appropriate, and I'm going to recommend that to a court tomorrow," Gascón said at a press conference, adding how the office had been flooded with calls recently. "I believe they have paid their debt to society."
Lyle and Erik, then 21 and 18, admitted to killing their parents with shotguns at their Beverly Hills mansion. The brothers testified it was in self-defense as they feared their lives were in danger. Erik and Lyle claimed they were sexually assaulted by their father for years and alleged their mother was aware. They were tried twice.
A mistrial was declared in 1994 due to a hung jury. In 1996, Lyle and Erik were convicted on first-degree murder charges and sentenced to life in prison. Many details of the alleged sexual abuse they suffered were not permitted during the retrial.
Gascón said his office is going to ask that "life without the possibility of parole be removed." Given Erik and Lyle's ages at the time of the murders, they are eligible for parole immediately. He called out their redemption and rehabilitation since being in prison.
"We're very sure, not only that the brothers have rehabilitated," Gascón said, but "that they have paid their dues not only for the crimes that they have committed but for all the other things they have done to improve the lives of many others."
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