Erik and Lyle Menendez are eligible for parole 35 years after they were imprisoned for murdering both of their parents.
On Tuesday, the brothers appeared in Los Angeles County Superior Court, where Judge Michael Jesic revised their sentences from life without parole to 50 years to life.
This change means they’re now eligible for parole under California’s youthful offender law because they committed the crime under the age of 26.
Originally, in 1996, the brothers were sentenced to life imprisonment for the fatal shooting of their parents, entertainment executive Jose Menendez and his wife Kitty Menendez, at their Beverly Hills residence.
The brothers were 18 and 21 at the time of the killings.
The defense argued that the brothers acted in self-defense due to years of sexual abuse by their father, while prosecutors contended that the motive was to claim a multimillion-dollar inheritance by killing their parents.
The state parole board must still decide whether to release them from prison.
‘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.’
Erik and Lyle Menendez are eligible for parole 35 years after they were imprisoned for murdering both of their parents. They are pictured here in December 1992
The duo have received educations behind bars and been model inmates
Relatives of the Menendez brothers arrived in court to offer their support in the resentencing
The brothers are broadly supported by their relatives, many of whom testified on their behalf on Tuesday. One said the duo had been ‘universally forgiven by the family’ for their actions.
‘Today, 35 years later, I am deeply ashamed of who I was,’ Lyle told the court. ‘I killed my mom and dad. I make no excuses and also no justification. The impact of my violent actions on my family… is unfathomable.’
The defense began by calling Ana Maria Baralt, a cousin of Erik and Lyle, who testified that the brothers have repeatedly expressed remorse for their actions.
‘We all, on both sides of the family, believe that 35 years is enough,’ Baralt said. ‘They are universally forgiven by our family.’
Another cousin, Tamara Goodell, said she had recently taken her 13-year-old son to meet the brothers in prison, and that they would contribute a lot of good to the world if released.
Hernandez, who also testified during Erik and Lyle’s first trial, spoke about the abuse she witnessed in the Menendez household when she lived with them and the so-called ‘hallway rule.’
‘When Jose was with one of the boys … you couldn’t even go up the stairs to be on the same floor,’ Hernandez said of the father.
The previous LA County District Attorney George Gascón had opened the door to possible freedom for the brothers last fall by asking a judge to reduce their sentences.
The brothers appeared in Los Angeles County Superior Court on Tuesday, where Judge Michael Jesic reduced their sentences from life without parole to 50 years to life
Jose and Kitty (pictured) were killed in their Beverly Hills mansion in 1989
DA Hochman has argued that ‘the prior DA’s motion did not examine or consider whether the Menendez brothers have exhibited full insight and taken complete responsibility for their crimes by continuing over 30 years to lie about their claims of self-defense
A chilling crime scene photo shows the blood-soaked couch where Jose Menendez was shot
His office said the case would’ve been handled differently today due to modern understandings of sexual abuse and trauma, and the brothers’ rehabilitation over three decades in prison.
A resentencing petition laid out by Gascón focuses on the brothers’ accomplishments and rehabilitation.
Since their conviction, the brothers have gotten an education, participated in self-help classes and started various support groups for their fellow inmates.
But current district attorney Nathan Hochman said Tuesday that he believes the brothers are not ready for resentencing because ‘they have not come clean’ about their crimes.
His office also has said it does not believe they were sexually abused.
‘Our position is not ‘no,’ it’s not ‘never,’ it’s ‘not yet,’ Hochman said. ‘They have not fully accepted responsibility for all their criminal conduct.’
