Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón on Thursday recommended Erik and Lyle Menendez be resentenced for the 1989 killings of their parents after spending nearly 35 years behind bars.
Lyle Menendez, then 21, and Erik Menendez, then 18, admitted to fatally shooting their father, Jose Menendez, and their mother, Kitty Menendez, after fearing their parents were about to kill them to stop people from finding out that Jose Menendez had sexually abused Erik Menendez for years, according to the Associated Press.
So, what does Gascón’s recommendation mean for the Menendez brothers’ case?
The resentencing recommendation could provide the brothers a chance at freedom after spending over three decades in jail. In 1996, they were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
During the Thursday news conference, Gascón said that he would ask for the brothers to be sentenced for murder but made eligible for immediate parole. Gascón said he would re-file the case on Friday.
A judge would have to rule on the request before the brothers could officially be released.
If a judge agrees with the request and the brothers are ultimately resentenced, they would then go before a parole board, which would decide if they would receive parole.
In court papers filed last year, attorneys for the brothers outlined new evidence that supports the brothers’ allegations of long-term sexual abuse at the hands of their father.
Eight months before the August 1989 killings, Erik Menendez wrote a letter to his cousin alluding to abuse by his father. Recent allegations from a former member of the Puerto Rican boy band Menudo also alleged that Jose Menendez sexually abused him as a teenager.
Extended family members have called for the brothers’ release for years, most recently earlier this month.
The case has regained national attention since the release of Netflix’s “The Menendez Brothers” film.
