California Gov. Gavin Newsom has deferred his decision on granting clemency for convicted murderers Erik and Lyle Menendez until Los Angeles County’s newly elected district attorney Nathan Hochman can review the case, his office announced Nov. 18.
“The governor respects the role of the district attorney in ensuring justice is served and recognizes that voters have entrusted District Attorney-elect Hochman to carry out this responsibility,” his office wrote in a statement Monday afternoon.
“The governor will defer to the DA-elect’s review and analysis of the Menendez case prior to making any clemency decisions,” his office added.
The brothers were 21 and 18 in 1989, when they killed their parents at their Beverly Hills home. In 1996, they were convicted and sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.
Erik and Lyle Menendez remain behind bars at Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego.
Los Angeles defense lawyer Mark Geragos, representing the brothers, submitted the clemency request to Newsom on Oct. 28. Outgoing Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón sent a letter of support a few days later, asking the governor to grant the petition.
In California, convicts can apply to the governor for a commutation of their sentence, which can reduce a prison term, or deliver a pardon, which restores some of the convict’s civic rights.
Gascón also filed a resentencing request on Oct. 25, asking a judge to change the brothers’ prison sentences, allowing them to be set free after nearly 35 years.
Since filing the request for clemency and accelerating the resentencing, Gascón has likely lost his bid for reelection to a second term.
Although results of the Nov. 5 election have not been certified by the Los Angeles County Registrar, Hochman, an independent, leads with nearly 60 percent of the vote. The state still has 24 days until officials announce results.
Neither Gascón’s office nor Hochman’s campaign returned a request for comment about Newsom’s decision.
Garegos did not provide a comment to The Epoch Times, but had interviewed with several media outlets, according to his law firm’s spokeswoman.
L.A. County District Attorney George Gascón announces his decision on a possible resentencing recommendation for Erik and Lyle Menendez on Oct. 24. (Apu Gomes/Getty Images)
A recent documentary released on Netflix, “The Menendez Brothers,” by Campfire Studios, featured Erik and Lyle Menendez and their claims of sexual abuse allegedly perpetrated by their father.
During their court trials, the brothers also alleged decades of physical and sexual abuse by Jose Menendez, a music industry executive at the time. They claimed to have killed their parents in self-defense.
Court documents filed last year by Geragos point to new evidence that allegedly corroborates the claims, including a letter written by Erik Menendez to one of his cousins in early 1989. The new documents also include allegations by Menudo bandmember Roy Rosselló of being sexually abused by Jose Menendez as a teen.
The film generated a flood of calls to Gascón’s office from the community, seeking their release, the district attorney said Oct. 24.
Although Gascón was already planning to ask the court to resentence the brothers, he decided to move up the filing date. The brothers’ good behavior, and society’s change in perspective about sexual abuse victims, compelled Gascón to ask for the brothers to be released, he said.
“Even though they didn’t think they would ever be let free, they engaged in a different journey—a journey of redemption and rehabilitation,” Gascón told reporters Oct. 24. “I believe that they have paid their debt to society and the system provides a vehicle for their case to be reviewed by a parole board.”
Court hearings are scheduled in Van Nuys for Nov. 25 and Dec. 11 to consider various proposals that could lead to the brothers’ immediate release.
City News Service contributed to this report.
