Poll: Do The Menendez Brothers Deserve Freedom? Share Your Thoughts

LOS ANGELES, CA — Erik and Lyle Menendez have been behind bars for over three decades for the 1989 shotgun murder of their parents, Jose and Mary Louise "Kitty" Menendez. Sentenced to life without the possibility of parole, the brothers' fates seemed to have been set in stone — until recently.

The brothers — now 57 and 54 — never denied carrying out the killings, but maintained they feared for their lives amid their father's abuse. Following the release of purported new evidence and a change in how society views boys as victims of sexual abuse, the Menendezes' legal team is pursuing several tracks as part of an effort to get them out of prison.

Patch wants to know — do you think the Menendez brothers deserve a chance at freedom? Submit your answer below.

"Accountability should not be weaponized to deny people the second chance they worked so hard for," their cousin, Anamaria Baralt, said.

Speaking at a rally in support of the brothers Thursday, Baralt said the advocates were speaking up "for every person who has been told ... that the worst thing they ever did defines them forever."

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 previous Los Angeles County district attorney last year requested that a court consider resentencing the brothers. If they were to be resentenced to a lesser term, that might allow them to seek parole or be released on time served.

But current District Attorney Nathan Hochman wants to withdraw that resentencing request. He points to what he says is a series of 20 lies told by the brothers — he says they need to own up to those lies if they want his help getting out of prison.

In a separate track, the brothers' attorneys asked Gov. Gavin Newsom to consider clemency in the form of a commutation — or reduction — of their sentences. Newsom has such broad powers under the state constitution.

Newsom ordered a state parole board to investigate whether the brothers pose a threat to public safety, which the governor described as a routine part of these types of requests. Newsom said he will use the results of that investigation to inform his decision.

So what do you think? Weigh in below: