SAN DIEGO — In court papers released Friday, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office is asking a judge to re-sentence Erik and Lyle Menendez to allow them to be eligible for parole in connection with the 1989 shotgun murders of their parents in their Beverly Hills mansion.
In a 57-page filing submitted late Thursday, prosecutors wrote that the brothers have "demonstrated exceptional post-conviction conduct, a critical factor in assessing their suitability for release" and have "demonstrated they no long present a public safety risk ... such that their current sentence is no longer in furtherance of justice."
Erik Menendez, 53, and Lyle Menendez, 56, who have alleged that they were sexually abused by their father, are serving life prison sentences without the possibility of parole for killing their parents, Jose and Mary Louise "Kitty," in their Beverly Hills mansion on Aug. 20, 1989.
District Attorney George Gascón said Thursday that prosecutors are recommending that the brothers' sentence of life without parole be rescinded and that they be re-sentenced to 50 years to life in prison, with the possibility of parole. Due to their ages at the time of the crime, such a sentence would make them potentially eligible for parole as youthful offenders, even though they have only served about 35 years behind bars.
It will be up to a judge to decide whether to actually re-sentence the pair.
If a judge agrees to the re-sentencing proposed by the District Attorney's Office, the matter would then be in the hands of a state parole board to determine if the brothers are suitable for parole and release from prison. If the board grants parole, the governor could still reject it.
A hearing date has not yet been announced in the brothers' case.
"The murders of Jose and Kitty Menendez in August 1989 although clearly planned, came upon the heels of years of alleged sexual and emotional abuse," according to the filing Thursday by Nancy A. Theberge, deputy-in- charge of the District Attorney's Re-Sentencing Unit, and Brock Lunsford, assistant head deputy of the District Attorney's Post-Conviction and Litigation unit.
"Removed from the horror of what was described to have occurred in the family home, both Erik and Lyle Menendez have shown themselves to be empathic individuals who care for and participate in the community for the betterment of the collective," according to the filing. "Erik and Lyle Menendez's positive transformation, as well as their ability to find meaning and purpose from their current confinement illustrate just how much circumstances have changed since the time they were sentenced to life without parole," according to the prosecution's filing.
The filing from the District Attorney's Office notes that at the time of the crime, Erik was an 18-year-old who was preparing to attend UCLA in the fall, and Lyle Menendez was a 21-year-old Princeton University student.
The prosecutors wrote that "the childhood abuse and trauma incurred by both defendants in this case is sufficient to invoke court consideration" under a new law that allows re-sentencing in certain cases.
"Both men have been incredible contributions to the prison system as a whole and to their fellow inmates on a very personal level. Erik and Lyle Menendez have done and continue to do their good works and contributions, done without any expectation or hope of ever being released," according to the filing. "They have used their time of incarceration well and now show that they are not a risk to public safety. Erik and Lyle Menendez both deserve a lesser sentence."
Erik Menendez has been "highly productive in the learning environment" while behind bars, and was accepted to UC Irvine in May 2023 for the fall 2023 term, according to the document. He has also "proven himself to be an incredible asset to his prison community," in which he has created four new programs to assist and better his fellow inmates' quality of life at Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego since he has been housed there with his brother, prosecutors wrote in the filing.
Lyle Menendez has graduated from UC Irvine with a bachelor's degree, and has also "established an overwhelming record of rehabilitation in satisfaction of the considerations for recall and re-sentencing" under state law, according to the filing, which notes that his prison record "demonstrates `sustained compliance with departmental regulations, rules and requirements, as well as prolonged participation in rehabilitative programming."
Lyle Menendez has been "a leader amongst his peers," held significant leadership roles for more than a decade and, like his brother, created four new programs within the prison system to assist and better his fellow inmates' quality of life, according to the court filing, which calls the two "ready to re-enter society."
The filing notes that it is widely known that members of the Menendez family are in full support of the re-sentencing, including Kitty's 93-year-old sister, Joan Andersen VanderMolen, who was among nearly 30 other relatives who attended a meeting at the District Attorney's Office and expressed support for the brothers' re-sentencing. The filing notes that Kitty Menendez's brother, Milton Andersen, is opposed to the re-sentencing.
"They have been in prison for nearly 35 years," Gascón said at a news conference Thursday. "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. And if parole concurs with my assessment, and it will be their decision, then they will be released accordingly."
Gascón noted that there were dissenters in his office who believe the brothers should remain in prison, and he anticipated that some of them may even appear in court to argue against the re-sentencing recommendation.
While announcing the recommendation Thursday, Gascón noted, "There is no excuse for murder. And I will never imply that what we're doing here is to excuse that behavior, because even if you get abused, the right path is to call the police, seek help. But I understand also how sometimes people get desperate. We often see women, for instance, that have been battered for years and sometimes they will murder their abuser out of desperation.
"I do believe the brothers were subjected to a tremendous amount of dysfunction in the home, and molestation," he said.
In court papers filed last year, attorneys for the brothers 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 was sexually abused by Jose Menendez as a teenager.
Gascón denied suggestions Thursday that his decision to seek the re- sentencing was politically motivated as he faces a tough re-election battle Nov. 5 against former federal prosecutor Nathan Hochman. He noted that his office has overseen the re-sentencing of more than 300 people, including 28 for murder, and "only four have re-offended."
Hochman issued a statement Thursday afternoon noting that the defense petition seeking reconsideration of the case has been pending for more than a year, but said Gascón waited until days before the election -- when he is "30 points down in the polls" -- to announce his decision.
"By releasing it now, Gascón has cast a cloud over the fairness and impartiality of his decision, allowing Angelenos to question whether the decision was correct and just or just another desperate political move by a D.A. running a losing campaign scrambling to grab headlines through a made-for- TV decision," Hochman said.
Meanwhile, a victims' rights attorney representing Kitty Menendez's brother, Milton Andersen, issued a statement Thursday morning blasting Gascón for failing to meet with Andersen or inform him of his office's intentions in the case, stripping away his rights as a victim in the case.
Kathleen Cady also questioned the validity of the "new evidence" in the case, saying Gascón has "ignored multiple notifications about individuals coming forward with information that seriously questions the credibility" of the letter allegedly written by Erik Menendez to his cousin about abuse allegations. She told Fox News on Wednesday that there is evidence the letter is fraudulent and was only written recently.
The Menendez case has been the subject of renewed public interest since the release of a recent Netflix documentary.
The brothers never denied carrying out the killings, but contended they were repeatedly sexually assaulted by their father and feared for their lives.
During their trials, however, prosecutors said the killings were financially motivated, pointing to lavish spending sprees by the brothers after the killings and arguing they were guilty of first-degree murder.
The brothers' first trial ended with jurors unable to reach verdicts, deadlocking between first-degree murder and lesser charges including manslaughter. The second trial, which began in October 1995 and lacked much of the testimony centered on allegations of sexual abuse by Jose Menendez, ended with both brothers being convicted of first-degree murder and conspiracy.
The brothers have repeatedly appealed their convictions to no avail.
The court papers filed by defense attorneys last year included a copy of the handwritten letter allegedly sent by Erik Menendez to his cousin, Andy Cano. Attorneys contend the letter was only recently discovered by Cano's mother. Cano, who died of a drug overdose in 2003, testified in the brothers' first trial that Erik Menendez had told him about the molestation by his father when Erik was 13 years old, according to the court documents.
In the letter, Erik Menendez writes in part, "I've been trying to avoid dad. It's still happening Andy, but it's worse for me now. I can't explain it. ... I never know when it's going to happen and it's driving me crazy. Every night I stay up thinking he might come in. I need to put it out of my mind."
In court papers, Menendez brothers attorneys Mark Geragos and Cliff Gardner wrote that the new evidence "not only shows that Jose Menendez was very much a violent and brutal man who would sexually abuse children, but it strongly suggests that -- in fact -- he was still abusing Erik Menendez as late as December 1988. Just as the defense had argued all along."
Cady, however, suggested that letter was fraudulent, saying "it is much more likely that the letter, if written by Erik, was written in the last few years and not before the murders as the defense now suggests."
Defense attorneys have also cited allegations that surfaced last year in a Peacock documentary series, in which Rosselló -- a former member of the boy band Menudo -- alleged that Jose Menendez drugged and sexually assaulted him when he was about 14 years old during a visit to the Menendez home in New Jersey in 1983 or 1984.
Jose Menendez was an executive at RCA Records, which signed Menudo to a recording contract.
"I know what he did to me in his house," Rosselló said in the series. In another segment, he points to a picture of Jose Menendez and says, "That's the man here that raped me. That's the pedophile."
A declaration from Rosselló -- who also alleges Menendez sexually assaulted him on two other occasions in New York -- was attached to the court papers filed on behalf of the Menendez brothers last year.
The Menendez brothers' attorneys argued that the new evidence warranted the case being re-opened.
"To resolve this case, jurors had to decide a single, critical question: was Jose Menendez molesting his sons?" the pair's attorneys write in the court document. "Jurors making this determination did not know of Erik's letter to his cousin Andy, and they did not know that Jose Menendez had previously raped a 14-year-old boy."
As a result, the attorneys argue that the brothers are being "unlawfully" imprisoned.
"Newly discovered evidence directly supports the defense presented at trial and just as directly undercuts the state's case against (the brothers)," the attorneys contend in the document.
"The judge is going to look at everything and try to make a decision whether resentencing makes sense in this particular case,” said Michael Semanchik, executive director of The Innocence Center, which works to free innocent prisoners and help them re-enter society.
Semanchik says if a judge grants Gascon's request to resentence the Menendez brothers - which would likely result in their release since they've already served so much time - adjusting to a free life won't be easy.
"Choices are incredibly difficult, and we strip them of the opportunity to make choices. In prison, they get two different types of toothpaste to choose from, A or B. That's it. When you come home and you step into a grocery store, you go to CVS, and you're looking at 50 different types of toothpaste, it can be overwhelming."
So can securing housing, applying for a driver’s license or navigating new technology.
Semanchik believes inmates need to have better training for the real world.
Still, in the Menendez brothers' case, it appears as though they have a large support system, which he says is crucial.
As for what parole could look life, Semanchik tells CBS8 it’s on a case-by-case basis, but often times rules apply, everything from where you can live, to being monitored 24/7.
“There's all of these things that you have to build into your parole plan to hopefully lead to your success.”