October 24, 2024
Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón will be expected to announce that he will support the resentence of Erik and Lyle Menendez, convicted in 1996 of shooting their parents Jose and Kitty Menendez to death at their Beverly Hills home in 1989. The brothers’ parole from prison will likely be recommended by Gascón — who currently faces a tough reelection campaign — in the coming months, sources say.
Gascón’s decision, announced amid growing public interest in the case, will be explained at a press conference on Thursday. The DA has spent the past several weeks considering new evidence on alleged sexual abuse the Menendez brothers say their father, the music mogul Jose Menendez, perpetrated. All of this, and a 1988 letter Erik Menendez sent to a cousin outlining the abuse, was not taken seriously at the brothers’ second trial, when they were sentenced to life without parole.
Potential Outcomes and Public Debate
This is going back to court, with a hearing on November 26 to see what happens next. A judge might allow for a resentencing, pardon the brothers, even a new trial. While the Menendez brothers’ lawyers have always insisted that the murders were self-inflicted and the result of years of neglect, prosecutors at the 1996 trial argued that the murders were motivated by money: the brothers’ post-parental expenditures were a point of focus.
Whether or not the brothers are released, or their sentences commuted, is a matter of how views of sexual abuse, especially by males, have changed since their conviction. Gascón acknowledged the cultural change himself, noting that new interest in the case (indeed, the show Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story by Ryan Murphy on Netflix) has led to new scrutiny of the brothers’ legal counsel.
Divided Family and Legal Team
Not everyone in the Menendez family supports the brothers being freed. Milton Anderson, 90-year-old brother of Kitty Menendez, has fought against an early release or a new trial for his nephews. Anderson has already drafted an amicus brief in the LA Superior Court this week calling attention to the murders’ ruthlessness, and the brothers’ willingness to reload their shotguns to make sure their mother was killed.
The brothers have been inundated with family apologies, however, with close to two dozen relatives calling for their release. The brothers’ attorneys Bryan Freedman, Mark Geragos and Cliff Gardner have been representing them, and family attorneys met with DA’s officials in the office after family members had a press conference in mid-October.
Political Implications for Gascón
Gascón’s move on the Menendez brothers comes during a close reelection race, where he’s trailing the former U.S. Assistant Attorney General Nathan Hochman by double-digits. Gascón’s role in the national and international drama has attracted headlines, and the DA has taken to the press, including an interview on CNN with Jake Tapper, to clarify his position. Gascón said in the past that he doesn’t think the brothers should be locked up for life.
The decision in the case will impact not only the Menendez brothers but Gascón’s political future. Now that there are accusers of the DA using the case to support his re-election campaign, Gascón’s decision will be subject to a high degree of public and political ire.
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