Prosecutors in Los Angeles are reviewing new evidence in the case of Erik and Lyle Menendez to determine whether they should be serving life sentences for killing their parents in their Beverly Hills mansion more than 35 years ago, the city’s district attorney said.
Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón said during a news conference that there is no question Erik Menendez, 53, and his 56-year-old brother, Lyle Menendez, committed the murders, but his office will be reviewing new evidence and will make a decision on whether a resentencing is warranted in the notorious case that captured national attention.
The new evidence presented in a petition includes a letter written by Erik Menendez that his lawyers say corroborates the allegations that he was sexually abused by his father.
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The brothers have said they killed their parents out of self-defence after enduring a lifetime of physical, emotional and sexual abuse from them. Their lawyers argue that because of society’s changing views on sexual abuse, that the brothers may not have been convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life without parole today.
Bryan Freedman, the extended family’s lawyers, said they strongly support the brothers’ release.
“She wishes nothing more than for them to be released,” Freedman said of Joan VanderMolen, the brothers’ aunt.
The brothers’ legal team said the family believed from the beginning they should have been charged with manslaughter rather than murder. Manslaughter was not an option for the jury during the second trial that ultimately led to the brothers’ murder conviction, lawyer Mark Geragos said.
Lyle Menendez, who was then 21, and Erik Menendez, then 18, admitted they fatally shot-gunned their entertainment executive father Jose Menendez and their mother, Kitty Menendez, in 1989 but said they feared their parents were about to kill them to prevent the disclosure of the father’s long-term sexual molestation of Erik.
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Prosecutors at the time contended there was no evidence of any molestation. They said the sons were after their parents’ multimillion-dollar estate.
Jurors rejected a death sentence in favour of life without parole.
Lawyer Cliff Gardner, who also represents the brothers, said they are pleased by the district attorney’s decision. The lawyers have asked for the court to vacate their conviction.
“Given today’s very different understanding of how sexual and physical abuse impacts children — both boys and girls — and the remarkable new evidence, we think resentencing is the appropriate result,” Gardner said in an email on Thursday to The Associated Press.
“The brothers have served more than 30 years in prison. That is enough.”
The case has gained new attention in recent weeks after Netflix began streaming the true-crime drama Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.
In a statement on X posted by his wife, Erik Menendez called the show a “dishonest portrayal” of what happened that has taken them back to a time when prosecutors “built a narrative on a belief system that males were not sexually abused, and that males experience rape trauma differently from women.”
Gascón said he believes that the topic of sexual assault would have been treated with more sensitivity if the case had happened today.
“We have not decided on an outcome. We are reviewing information,” Gascón said.
He said his office did not know the “validity” of what was presented at the trial.
A hearing has been scheduled for November 29.
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