Menendez Brothers' Freedom Could Hinge On Investigation Ordered By Newsom

LOS ANGELES, CA — As Gov. Gavin Newsom weighs clemency for Erik and Lyle Menendez, the governor this week said he's ordered an investigation into whether the brothers pose a risk to public safety three decades after being sentenced for the 1989 shotgun murder of their parents, Jose and Mary Louise "Kitty" Menendez.

The brothers, who are serving life without parole, requested that Newsom grant them clemency in the form of a pardon or commutation of their sentence. While the governor previously said he would defer to Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman on that question, this week he said he directed the state parole board to conduct a "risk assessment investigation" into the brothers.

"The question for the board is a simple one — do Erik and Lyle Menendez, do they pose a current what we call 'unreasonable risk to public safety,'" Newsom said. "The risk assessment will be conducted as they are typically conducted — by experts in public safety as well as forensic psychologists."

Newsom described the inquiry as a routine one conducted as part of clemency applications. Neither he nor Hochman have indicated where they stand on the question of clemency.

The brothers' clemency application is just one route they're taking in a bid to get out of prison. Their lawyers are also attempting to secure them a new trial and get them resentenced simultaneously.

While Hochman's predecessor, George Gascón, was a strong advocate of leniency for the brothers, Hochman hasn't been as eager.

Hochman last week said his office will oppose a motion filed by the Menendez brothers' attorneysseeking a new trial as part of a habeas petition. He challenged the attorneys' claims of new evidence they say supports allegations of sexual abuse of the brothers by their father.

Hochman argued the evidence is inadmissible on various grounds. He questioned whether the claims are actually new or being presented in a legally timely manner.

The multi-pronged campaign for the brothers centers around that alleged evidence and is supported by a change in how society views boys as victims of sexual abuse and renewed advocacy around the case fueled by social media content creators and a new documentary, members of the Menendez family say.

The evidence 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.

Hochman said last week that he doesn't believe the letter is credible.

"If this letter truly existed, the defense counsel would have absolutely used it at the trial," Hochman said.

• Read more: Menendez Brothers' Family Calls For Resentencing

Hochman has not indicated where he stands on another ongoing effort, to have the brothers resentenced to a lesser term that might allow them to seek parole or be released on time served. He said his office is still reviewing the matter.

Because the brothers were under 26 when the crime occurred, they would immediately be eligible for youthful parole. If the judge agrees, the Menendezes could be eligible for parole "immediately," Gascón said — a parole board would decided whether the brothers have been rehabilitated and should be released.

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 the Erik and Lyle Menendez sought to profit from their parents’ multimillion-dollar estate.

The brothers — now 56 and 53 — never denied carrying out the killings, but maintained they feared for their lives amid their father's abuse.

City News Service contributed to this report.