Judge Reduces Menendez Brothers' Murder Sentences, Giving Them Shot At Freedom

LOS ANGELES, CA — Erik and Lyle Menendez — who have been behind bars for over 30 years without the possibility of parole for the 1989 shotgun murder of their parents in Beverly Hills — were re-sentenced Tuesday to 50 years to life, opening the door for them to be considered for parole.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic reduced the brothers’ sentences from life without parole to 50 years to life. They’re now eligible for parole under California’s youthful offender law because they committed the crime under the age of 26.

The decision does not automatically mean the pair will be released from prison. They will have to appear before a parole board, which will recommend whether they should be available for parole. The recommendation would then go to Gov. Gavin Newsom, who could reject their release.

“I’m not saying they should be released, it’s not for me to decide,” Jesic said. “I do believe they’ve done enough in the past 35 years, that they should get that chance.”

Deputy District Attorney Habib Balian argued forcefully against any change to the brothers' sentence, telling the judge that the pair had still not "fully understood the depth of their crime" or taken accountability for their efforts to recruit friends to lie on their behalf at trial.

"Are they trustworthy?" Balian said as Menendez family members grumbled. "They stick to the same false story. They haven't changed. They haven't found redemption ... they have no insight into their crimes. ... They are not ready yet."

The brothers did not show any apparent emotion during most of the testimony as they appeared via livestream video, but chuckled when one of their cousins, Diane Hernandez, told the court that Erik Menendez received A+ grades in all of his classes during his most recent semester in college.

In court Tuesday morning, Menendez family members and the brothers themselves worked to convince the judge that the brothers had shown remorse and had great insight into their crimes.

Both brothers spoke at length via video from prison in San Diego, apologizing for their actions and expressing regret to relatives and even to their former neighbors in Beverly Hills. They also both gave emotional testimony about their work to turn their lives around and help fellow inmates.

"I killed my mom and dad," Lyle Menendez, 57, said in the opening of his 15-minute statement to the court. "I make no excuses. I take full responsibility for my choices."

He listed some of those choices: "the choice to shoot my mom and dad in their own home," "the choice of making a mockery of the legal system by soliciting perjury."

"I am deeply ashamed of who I was," he said, adding that when he originally received the life-without-parole prison sentence in 1996, "I knew I deserved the suffering to come."

Erik Menendez discussed the murders of his parents, saying he had "committed an atrocious act against people who had every right to live."

He also apologized to the community of Beverly Hills where the murders worried and frightened residents of the normally tranquil enclave.

"I stole from the neighbors the right to live in a peaceful community," he said, also expressing regret for telling police and family members that he believed the killings were somehow tied to organized crime.

As for his parents, he said, "I imagine their last moments over and over again" and the "infliction of unimaginable suffering" he and his brother caused.

"After the killings, I denied responsibility," Erik Menendez said. "I even blamed others. "During the past 35 years, I have worked hard to find out what kind of person would kill their parents," Erik Menendez said. "... For a long time I lost hope and became self-destructive."

Erik Menendez said he believes he turned a corner when he dedicated himself to caring for the elderly and the terminally ill. And he assured the judge that whether he remained in prison or was released, "I will not stop trying to make a difference."

The development marks a victory in a multi-year, multi-pronged campaign for the brothers that centered around alleged new evidence and is supported by a change in how society views boys as victims of sexual abuse. Renewed advocacy around the case fueled by social media content creators and a new documentary have also raised questions about the convictions, members of the Menendez family say.

The evidence claimed by defense attorneys includes a letter written by Erik Menendez to his cousin eight months before the killing and recent allegations by Roy Rosselló, a former member of the boy band Menudo, that he was also sexually abused by Jose Menendez as a teenager, their attorney says.

The Menendez brothers were tried twice after the first trial ended in a hung jury. During the second trial, prosecutors argued there was no evidence of sexual abuse, and details of the brothers' claims were not permitted in the second trial, ending in their conviction. Prosecutors at the time argued that Erik and Lyle Menendez sought to profit from their parents’ multimillion-dollar estate.

The brothers — now 57 and 54 — never denied carrying out the killings, but maintained they feared for their lives amid their father's abuse.

Meanwhile, another freedom effort is underway after the brothers applied for clemency from Newsom. State parole boards are set to conduct separate hearings June 13 for the brothers, then send their reports to Newsom to help him decide whether the two should receive clemency.

Family members testified that if released, the brothers would assume roles as advocates for victims of childhood sexual trauma, which the brothers contend they are victims of. While behind bars Erik and Lyle Menendez have been involved in rehabilitation projects for inmates and hospice services, family member said.

Along with family members, emotional testimony was heard Tuesday from rapper Anerae Brown, better known by his stage name X-Raided, who was sentenced to decades in prison on gang-related murder charges and ended up spending years in the same facility as the Menendez brothers. He credited the brothers for saving his life. Brown was paroled in 2018 after serving 26 years behind bars.

"If I hadn't met Lyle and Erik, I might still be sitting there (in prison), doing stupid things," Brown said from the witness stand, telling the court that the brothers counseled him to stop getting involved in illegal activity in prison and to work on his own personal development.

The success of the resentencing effort on Tuesday came after a heated battle between the Menendez attorneys and Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman.

Hochman's predecessor as district attorney, George Gascón, requested that the court consider resentencing the brothers — kicking off the process that came to a head on Tuesday.

But Hochman had a much different perspective. He asked the judge to withdraw the district attorney’s office's request for resentencing due to what he said are a series of 20 lies the brothers told, most in support of the idea that they killed their parents in self-defense.

Until the Menendezes recant those statements, Hochman said he would not support the effort to get them out of prison.

Last week, attorneys for the brothers withdrew a motion asking that the DA's office be removed from the case, saying they want to expeditiously move forward with their bid to have the pair re-sentenced. They had alleged that the DA's actions in court amounted to "a conflict of interest" that would "render it likely that the defendants will receive neither a fair hearing nor fair treatment through all related proceedings."

Hochman — who spoke on behalf of the prosecution for the bulk of Friday's hearing — reiterated his opposition to re-sentencing for the brothers, arguing they have not "accepted complete responsibility for their actions." He maintained in court that his decision was not based on a "political whim."

The Associated Press and City News Service contributed to this report.