Menendez Brothers Trial Rejected, but Resentencing Effort Could Result in Their Release | US News
The Los Angeles County District Attorney has rejected a new trial for Lyle and Erik Menendez, who have spent 35 years behind bars for the shotgun murders of their parents.
Nonetheless, Nathan Hochman indicated that no final decision has yet been made regarding a resentencing request that might enable their release.
In 1989, the brothers were convicted for the murders of their entertainment executive father, Jose Menendez, and their mother, Kitty Menendez, receiving life sentences without the possibility of parole.
Their most recent attempt to secure freedom revolves around newly uncovered evidence suggesting their father’s sexual abuse.
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However, Mr. Hochman expressed skepticism regarding the evidence, arguing that it was not relevant to the case.
“While sexual abuse may have influenced Erik and Lyle’s actions, it does not amount to self-defense,” he stated.
He further added that the brothers’ accounts of abuse were unreliable, as they had provided five different explanations for their parents’ murder.
Lyle, left, and Erik Menendez in court in 1990. Pic: AP
The Menendez family described the decision as “abhorrent,” asserting it undermined the trauma the brothers endured.
“Abuse does not exist in a vacuum. It leaves lasting scars, rewires the brain, and confines victims in cycles of fear and trauma,” they stated.
“To suggest it had no impact on Erik and Lyle’s actions disregards decades of psychological insights and fundamental human comprehension.”
The family stated that further evidence should not be necessary, given that the justice system failed the brothers in the past and continues to do so today.
Although Lyle and Erik Menendez acknowledged that they killed their parents using a shotgun, they claimed they feared for their lives due to public revelations about their father’s long-term sexual abuse of Erik.
At the time, prosecutors contended there was no substantiated evidence of molestation, and many aspects of the brothers’ accounts were excluded from the 1996 trial that resulted in their convictions.
Prosecutors accused the brothers of murdering their parents for financial gain.
The proposed resentencing will still be addressed in a hearing scheduled for March, which could make them immediately eligible for parole.
The Menendez case gained renewed attention following the release of a Netflix drama titled “Monsters,” alongside a documentary detailing their story.
