() Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman says a judge used his office’s reports to decide that the Menendez brothers should be resentenced, but the DA’s office maintains they are not ready for release based on those same facts.
Hochman told ’s Elizabeth Vargas that his office’s job was to present complete facts to the judge, which is what they did in the Menendez case.
“We dug deep, 50,000 pages of transcripts, hours and hours of videotaped testimony, hundreds of pages of prison files. We interviewed the family members. I personally spoke to the Menendez family members for over three hours, and we presented all those facts to the judge.”
But while his office didn’t deem the brothers greenlit for resentencing, a judge saw it differently.
Judge Michael Jesic resentenced the brothers Tuesday to life with the possibility of parole.
Before downgrading the brothers’ sentences to life with the possibility of parole, the judge noted that it was an absolutely horrific crime, but he gave the brothers credit for changing and doing remarkable work in prison.
It is now up to California’s parole board to determine their future.
A parole board hearing is already set for June 13, so it’s possible that the brothers could be free men in a matter of weeks.
The hearing comes nearly 36 years after the brothers shot their parents in their own home.
Based on their review, Hochman said “what we came up with is that the Menendez (brothers have) made many steps towards the progress of rehabilitation, but they weren’t there.”
He also said he wanted it to be clear that his office would not treat anyone differently just because they have media notoriety or are the subject of a Netflix documentary.
While Hochman did not agree with the judge, the brothers’ family members said they were “thankful” for his ruling.
Tamara Goodell, a cousin of the Menendez brothers, said she spoke to Lyle after the resentencing ruling and said she sensed “ease in his voice” and “enthusiasm for the next steps.”
Goodell added that their family will be a “safety net” for the brothers if they leave prison.
The brothers are remorseful about their actions, she added, and they are “holding to that truth.”
