Family of Menendez Brothers Will Meet Today with New L.A. County D.A., Who Is Mulling Brothers' Case
The brothers’ relatives said in a statement that they hope the meeting “will put us a step closer to spending next Christmas reunited as a family”
California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation/AP
Erik Menendez in 2016 and Lyle Menendez in 2018.Family members of the Menendez brothers plan to meet with newly elected Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman on Friday, Jan. 3, to push for a reduced sentence for the pair.
Following a 1993 mistrial, Lyle and Erik Menendez were convicted in 1996 of shooting and killing their parents, Kitty and Jose Menendez in their $5 million Beverly Hills home in 1989, when they were 21 and 18, respectively.
They were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
During the first trial, their attorneys argued that the brothers killed their parents after years of sexual and emotional abuse from their father, which they claimed their mother ignored. The brothers also claimed they feared for their lives when they committed the murders.
This fall, former Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón supported resentencing the brothers, which would enable them to be immediately eligible for parole.
But Gascón was voted out of office, and the new district attorney said he wanted to review the evidence before making any decisions.
Ahead of Friday’s meeting with Hochman, The Justice for Erik and Lyle Coalition — a group of family members who support the brothers — released a statement about what they hope to accomplish.
“As we prepare to meet with DA Hochman, our family is hopeful for an open and fair discussion,” the family members said in a statement.
“Despite the abuse they endured as children and the unfairness of their current sentence, Erik and Lyle Menendez have spent the last three decades taking responsibility for their actions and contributing positively to their community through leadership and rehabilitation.
“During our meeting with DA Hochman, we look forward to sharing our perspective on Erik and Lyle’s immense personal growth over the last 35 years and the ways in which we plan to support them in their next chapters.
“We hope that this meeting will put us a step closer to spending next Christmas reunited as a family.”
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The meeting with Hochman will include more than 20 members of Jose and Kitty Menendez’s family who are “all united in their support for a resentencing process that reflects Erik and Lyle’s abuse, trauma, and demonstrated rehabilitation over the last 35 years,” the statement said.
The Netflix documentary The Menendez Brothers, which began streaming last October, and featured recorded interviews with the brothers from prison, as well as Ryan Murphy’s Netflix show Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, starring Javier Bardem and Chloë Sevigny, spurred renewed interest in the sensational case.
The brothers could possibly be resentenced at their hearing later this month.
During Gascón's tenure as DA, he announced that he would recommend the brothers be resentenced to 50 years to life, which would make them immediately eligible for parole.
Gascón also said he supported their request for clemency from California Gov. Gavin Newsom. But the governor has said he would wait for the recommendation of the newly-elected Hochman, who defeated Gascón in the November election, before making a decision on clemency.
On the coalition's website, the family writes that Hochman "has claimed that the Menendez brothers' second trial sufficiently addressed the abuse they suffered. This is not true. While Erik testified about the abuse for hours, key evidence and corroborating testimonies were excluded."
If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, text "STRENGTH" to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.
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