Hearing dates have been set for the Menendez brothers who resent their efforts

LOS ANGELES (CNS) – Two hearings will be held in November and December to consider various proposals that could potentially lead to the release of Erik and Lyle Menendez, who are serving life sentences without parole for the murders of their two husbands in 1989. parents in their mansion in Beverly Hills.

On Wednesday, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic scheduled a hearing for December 11 to consider a petition submitted by the Public Prosecution Service asking that the brothers be resentenced to 50 years to life in prison, with the possibility of parole. Given the brothers’ ages at the time of the crime, such a move would potentially make them immediately eligible for parole as juvenile offenders, even though they have only served about 35 years behind bars.

Attorney Mark Geragos said a hearing was also held Nov. 25 on a defense petition for reconsideration of the case, and he said at that hearing he will ask that the brothers be re-sentenced on the lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter and that they be released immediately. prison.

“The prosecutor is recommending a life sentence at age 50, which would make them immediately eligible for parole,” Geragos told KNX News Wednesday afternoon. “We are going to ask the judge to exercise his power not only to recall the (current) sentence, but also to sentence him to a less serious crime, namely voluntary manslaughter, and to give him a prison sentence. “

He told the station that if things work out in the defense team’s favor, the brothers could possibly be home in time for the holidays.

“That’s one of the reasons why we set a date in November and a backup date in December, so we’re hopeful,” he said.

Meanwhile, the defense team has also filed papers with Governor Gavin Newsom asking for clemency for the Menendez brothers. On Wednesday, District Attorney George Gascón said he would support that request.

“I strongly support clemency for Erik and Lyle Menendez, who are currently serving life sentences without the possibility of parole,” Gascón said in a statement. “They served 34 years respectively, continuing their education and working to establish new programs to support the rehabilitation of fellow inmates.”
Gascón announced last week that his office would ask that the brothers be resentenced. Prosecutors then filed a 56-page motion, saying the brothers “have demonstrated exceptional post-conviction conduct, a critical factor in assessing their suitability for release” and “have demonstrated that they are no longer a risk to the public security…so that their current The punishment is no longer in furtherance of justice.”

WATCH: LA County DA praises Menendez brothers’ good behavior in jail

LA County DA highlights the Menendez brothers’ good behavior in jail

Erik Menendez, 53, and Lyle Menendez, 56, who allege they were sexually abused by their father, are serving life sentences without the possibility of parole for killing their parents, Jose and Mary Louise “Kitty,” in their Beverly Hills. mansion on August 20, 1989.

It will be up to the judge to decide whether he will actually sentence the couple.

If a judge agrees to the prosecutor’s proposed sentencing measure, the case would be in the hands of a state parole board to determine whether the brothers are suitable for parole and release from prison. If the board grants parole, the governor can still deny it.
The issue would become moot if a judge agrees to Geragos’ call to resentence the brothers to prison time already served on a lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter.

The prosecutor’s filing notes that at the time of the crime, Erik was an 18-year-old preparing to attend UCLA in the fall, and that Lyle Menendez was a 21-year-old student at Princeton University.

Prosecutors wrote that “the child abuse and trauma suffered by both defendants in this case are sufficient to warrant recourse to the court” under a new law that allows resentencing in certain cases.

“Both men have made incredible contributions to the prison system as a whole and to their fellow inmates on a very personal level. Erik and Lyle Menendez have done and continue to do their good works and contributions, done without any expectation or hope that they ever will be.” released,” the file said. “They have made good use of their time incarcerated and are now demonstrating that they do not pose a risk to public safety. Erik and Lyle Menendez both deserve a lesser sentence.”

In court documents filed last year, the brothers’ attorneys pointed to two new pieces of evidence that they say corroborate the brothers’ allegations of long-term sexual abuse by their father — a letter written by Erik Menendez to one of his cousins. early 1989, eight months before the murders in August 1989, and recent allegations by Roy Rosselló, a former member of the Puerto Rican boy band Menudo, that he was sexually abused by Jose Menendez as a teenager.

The Menendez case has been the subject of renewed public interest since the release of a recent Netflix documentary.

The brothers never denied committing the murders, but claimed they were repeatedly sexually abused by their father and that they feared for their lives.

However, during their trial, prosecutors said the killings were financially motivated, pointing to the brothers’ lavish spending after the killings and arguing that they were guilty of first-degree murder.

The brothers’ first trial ended when jurors were unable to reach a verdict, leaving a deadlock between first-degree murder and lesser charges, including manslaughter. The second trial, which began in October 1995 and was missing much of the testimony on allegations of sexual abuse by Jose Menendez, ended with both brothers being convicted of first-degree murder and conspiracy.
The brothers have repeatedly appealed their convictions to no avail.

Court papers filed by attorneys last year include a copy of the handwritten letter Erik Menendez allegedly sent to his cousin Andy Cano. Lawyers claim the letter was only recently discovered by Cano’s mother. Cano, who died of a drug overdose in 2003, testified in the brothers’ first trial that Erik Menendez told him about his father’s sexual assault when Erik was 13 years old, according to court documents.

In the letter, Erik Menendez writes in part, “I’ve been trying to avoid Dad. It still happens Andy, but it’s worse for me now. I can’t explain it. … I never know when it’s going to happen.” and it drives me crazy. Every night I stay awake thinking he might come in. I have to put it out of my mind.’

Defense attorneys have also cited allegations that surfaced last year in a Peacock documentary series, in which Rosselló — a former member of the boy band Menudo — alleged that Jose Menendez drugged and sexually assaulted him when he was about 14 years old during a visit to the Menendez home in New Jersey in 1983 or 1984.

WATCH: LA County DA explains his office did not make the resentencing decision unanimously

LA County DA: Office did not make Menendez decision unanimously

Jose Menendez was an executive at RCA Records, which signed Menudo to a recording contract.

“I know what he did to me in his house,” Rosselló said in the series. In another segment, he points to a photo of Jose Menendez and says, “That’s the man right here who raped me. That’s the pedophile.”

A statement from Rosselló — who also claims Menendez sexually assaulted him on two other occasions in New York — was included in the lawsuits filed on behalf of the Menendez brothers last year.

The Menendez brothers’ attorneys argued that the new evidence warranted reopening the case.

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