Menendez Brothers Resentencing Recommended by Los Angeles DA

The Menendez brothers could be free within weeks thanks to Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón.

As Deadline exclusively reported earlier today, the prosecutor is recommending that the siblings be re-sentenced.

At a late news conference in downtown Los Angeles, surrounded by members of the Menendez family, the district attorney said Thursday that his office would file a motion with the court tomorrow to lift the brothers' life sentences. If a Los Angeles Superior Court judge sentences the brothers to manslaughter instead of first-degree murder, they could be out of prison sooner.

“What that means in this particular case is that we will be recommending to the court that life without parole be revoked, and that they will be sentenced for murder, which, given that there were two murders, that would be… He only took it at the last hour: “50 years to life.” “However, given their age under the law, and since they were under 26 at the time of this crime, they will be eligible for parole immediately.”

No date has been set for that session yet. The parole board will have to consider the brother's case before they are released, which likely means later this year or early 2025.

The brothers were sentenced to life in prison without parole at their second trial in 1996 for the 1989 murder of their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez. After exhausting their appeal options, the case of Eric, 53, and Lyle, 56, received renewed attention through new evidence It was revealed in a peacock documentary last year, as well as a collection of TikTok videos and Ryan Murphy's well-watched nine-part Netflix series. Monsters: The Story of Lyle and Eric Menendez.

With Gascón's long-controversial move on Thursday, the matter now moves to a LASC judge.

At the Nov. 26 hearing, which the brothers may or may not attend in person or virtually, that judge could order a new trial for the brothers or reduce the prison term. Because multiple officials and nearly two dozen family members have taken care of the brothers' rehabilitation over the decades, the judge could also let the siblings out of the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility near San Diego where they are being held.

As those in Gascón's office who oppose re-sentencing or reopening the case will tell you, there is no doubt that 19-year-old Eric and 21-year-old Lyle premeditated the murders. The brothers even reloaded their weapons that night to ensure their mother was dead. The duo also went on an ostentatious spending spree in the immediate aftermath of their parents' deaths, which condemned them in the eyes of many. However, the circumstances that led to these horrific shootings are increasingly being viewed from a new perspective – especially with more evidence now available.

This new evidence, which the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office has had for about a year, includes a letter Eric Menendez wrote in 1988 to one of his cousins ​​about his father's extensive sexual abuse. The handwritten correspondence was written and sent months before the brothers murdered their parents in their Beverly Hills home. “I never know when it's going to happen, and it drives me crazy,” the younger Menendez wrote to a cousin about attacks by his overweight father.

Oddly enough, Gascón posted the message online earlier this week, but deleted it shortly afterward.

In fact, most of the previously available evidence of sexual assault by Jose Menendez was excluded from the brothers' second trial in the mid-1990s. Since then, along with a shift in society's perspective regarding sexual assault against men, it has also emerged that musical director Jose Menendez sexually assaulted at least one of Menudo's band members.

Several members of Menendez's extended family, many of them elderly, were present at the DTLA Hall of Justice press conference Thursday afternoon, along with their attorney, Brian Friedman. “The family thanks the district attorney for agreeing to resentence,” Friedman told Deadline today. “We have been over 30 years waiting for this justice.”

Having captured local, national and international attention in the past few weeks with his surprising interest in the Menendez case, incumbent Gascón faces very strong electoral competition from former Assistant U.S. Attorney Nathan Hochman in his bid for a second term. After being criticized for some of his more progressive positions, Gascón, who overcame a double recall, is now two digits short of Hochman and needs a win or two before next month's election.

The Menendez brothers might provide just such a win, or at least, the impression of it, for Gascón.

“The timing is incredibly suspicious,” Hochman said of Gascón’s recent direct interest in the Menendez case in an Oct. 8 televised debate between the rivals. “You're certainly not going to let me hold a press conference to tell you I'm just thinking about it,” Hochman added, referring to Gascón's mysterious period in front of the cameras on October 3.

At today's press conference, Gascón insisted that “there was nothing political” in his decision to take action on the Menendez brothers' case. “I'm not going to talk about reelection,” the clearly angry Democratic lawmaker told the media when pressed about the timing.

Finding himself buoyed by events, even if he wins the DA race, Nathan Hochman was certainly talking about his re-election campaign today.

“Prosecutor George Gascón has received Menendez's petition for habeas corpus in May 2023 and request for a retrial in February 2024,” the DA's challenger said in a statement immediately after Gascón's announcement.

“However, he waited until days before the November 5 election, down 30 points in the polls and with articles about how his failed policies had led to additional murders of innocent people, to issue his recommendation for reinstatement,” Hochman added. “By issuing it now, Gascón has cast a cloud over the fairness and integrity of his decision, allowing Angelenos to question whether the decision was right and fair or just another desperate political move by the DA who is running a losing campaign striving to grab headlines with a made-for-TV decision. Angelenos and all Those involved deserve better.

Ted Johnson contributed to this report.