Convicted for almost 30 years for murdering parents in a brutal crime in the late 1980s, Menendez brothers may have a chance to get out of jail.
Hearings in Los Angeles on Thursday (17) and this Friday (18) can decide for a new sentence, which would make Erik and Lyle eligible for parole.
The possibility of release has grown in the last months after the then district attorney of Los Angeles, George Gascon, recommended last year a new penalty for the brothers, who starred in one of the most emblematic “true crime” cases in the United States, inspiring the third season of the Neftlix “monsters” series.
Remember the murder
On August 20, 1989, José and Kitty Menendez were shot dead inside the family mansion room in the luxurious Beverly Hills neighborhood of California.
Shortly thereafter, Lyle Menendez called emergency services pretending to be desperate after finding her parents dead at home.
The crime scene caught the eye for the brutality: the couple’s bodies were disfigured and there was a lot of blood in the place.
Modus Operandi made the police initially believe it was a crime committed by mobsters, the theory that was defended by the brothers to try to mislead the authorities.
José Menendez worked in the entertainment industry, which at the time had the influence of the mafia.
But the brothers’ scam was unveiled after Erik confessed to the murder to a psychologist and an audio of the admission of guilt reaching the police.
The case captivated the US in the 1990s due to the wealth and privileges of the brothers as children of an entertainment industry executive.
Lyle was 21 years old and Erik, 18, at the time of the murders.
They claimed after it was a self -defense because the father, Joseph, sexually abused them and the mother did nothing to prevent it.
The two also said that they were at risk of death. None of the allegations was definitively proven at the time.
Prosecutors, meanwhile, pointed out that the murders were premeditated, committed so that men could obtain the multimillionaire heritage of their parents.
One jury condemned them in 1996 for first -degree murder after the second of two widely released judgments, the first of which ended with a tied jury.
Some members of the Menendez family supported the brothers’ liberation, including the sisters of José and Kitty Menendez.
A remarkable exception – Milton Anderson, brother of Kitty Menendez – died recently. Anderson repeatedly opposed their liberation and contested the allegations of abuse.
The effort to reexamine the case began in 2023, when a documentary series of Peacock presented another alleged victim saying it was raped by José Menendez – the father of the brothers.
The lawyers of the Menendez brothers filed a petition of habeas corpus asking the court to reconsider the conviction and sentence in the light of new evidence of the other alleged victim and a letter Erik wrote about the abuse before the murders.
In October, Los Angeles County Public Prosecutor George Gascon entered a motion recommending that the judge again sentence the brothers, which could allow them to be released immediately.
The argument was that over the more than three decades in the penitentiary, Erik and Lyle showed exemplary behavior and led initiatives for good conviviality and rehabilitation of the inmates.
They created meditation programs, group therapy on childhood trauma and support for people with disabilities and the elderly.
In addition, the prosecutor argued that the alleged sexual abuse suffered by the brothers would be perceived differently by society today and, therefore, the result of the judgment would be another today.
In the United States, some district prosecutors are elected by the people and, in the same dispute that took Donald Trump back to the White House, George Gascoon lost reelection and had to leave office.
He was replaced by Nathan Hochman, who is not in favor of a new chance for the brothers.
Hochman states that Erik and Lyle have not fully accepted responsibility for their parents’ murder, arguing that they insist on lying about the case.
He also does not consider the evidence that there was sexual abuse.
This content was originally published in remember the murder committed by the Menendez brothers in the US on CNN Brazil.
Source: CNN Brasil
Bruce Belcher is a seasoned author with over 5 years of experience in world news. He writes for online news websites and provides in-depth analysis on the world stock market. Bruce is known for his insightful perspectives and commitment to keeping the public informed.
