VAN NUYS, Calif.—Attorneys for Erik and Lyle Menendez are set to ask a judge Monday to reconsider the convictions of the brothers, who are serving life sentences without parole for the 1989 shotgun slayings of their parents in their Beverly Hills mansion.
Defense attorney Mark Geragos says he will ask the judge during the hearing to resentence the Menendez brothers on the lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter based on what he alleges is new evidence. Such a ruling could lead to the brothers’ release from prison.
The Menendez brothers are expected to attend Monday’s Van Nuys hearing virtually by way of a link from the prison in San Diego where they are currently incarcerated.
The defense filed a petition last year that argues newly uncovered evidence bolsters defense allegations that the brothers were victims of sexual abuse.
In the court filing, Menendez attorneys pointed to two new pieces of evidence they contend corroborate the brothers’ allegations of long-term sexual abuse at the hands of their father—a letter written by Erik Menendez to one of his cousins in early 1989, eight months before the August 1989 killings, and recent allegations by Roy Rosselló, a former member of the Puerto Rican boy band Menudo, that he too was sexually abused by Jose Menendez as a teenager.
Last month, current Los Angeles Count District Attorney George Gascón requested that a judge resentence the brothers. Given the brothers’ ages at the time of the crime, such a ruling to downgrade their charges would make them potentially immediately eligible for parole as youthful offenders, even though they have served only about 35 years behind bars.
Interest in the case surged following the release of a recent Netflix documentary and dramatic series.
The Menendez brothers’ defense team has submitted papers to Gov. Gavin Newsom requesting clemency, and Gascón said he would support that request.
Newsom said he will delay making a decision on the brothers’ bid for clemency until incoming L.A. County District Attorney Nathan Hochman reviews the nearly 35-year-old case.
“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,” a statement from the governor’s office said.
“The governor will defer to the DA-elect’s review and analysis of the Menendez case prior to making any clemency decisions.”
Gascón was handily defeated in his re-election bid by Hochman, a former federal prosecutor who campaigned on a tougher stance against crime. Hochman is set to take office in December. A second Menendez hearing is scheduled for Dec. 11.
During their two highly publicized trials, the brothers did not dispute that they killed their parents, but claimed self-defense, citing decades of alleged physical and sexual abuse by their father.
By Fred Shuster
