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A decision is expected this week in the Menendez brothers’ fight for freedom
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A decision is expected this week in the Menendez brothers’ fight for freedom

Posted at 9:00 AM, October 23, 2024
And last updated at 10:54 AM, October 23, 2024

LOS ANGELES (Court TV) – The Menendez brothers will find out this week if they have a chance at life outside prison.

On Monday, Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón told PEOPLE that he will announce his decision on whether to recommend a new sentence for Erik and Lyle Menendez by the end of the week.

Erik Menendez listens to his lawyer Leslie Abramson, while his brother Lyle watches

FILE – Erik Menendez, center, listens to his attorney Leslie Abramson as his brother Lyle looks on in Beverly Hills, California, May 17, 1991. (AP Photo/Julie Markes, File)

Gascón also said he does not believe the brothers pose a danger to society. “Honestly, they probably haven’t been for a long time, if they ever were. I don’t think they were going to kill people or rob people on the street.”

If Gascón recommends that the brothers be resentenced, the decision would ultimately be up to a judge.

Erik and Lyle Menendez were found guilty of the brutal murder of their parents on March 20, 1996 after a second trial. Months later, they were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

MORE | Mendez Brothers: What you want to know

During their first trial in 1993, both brothers testified that they killed their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez, because they feared for their lives after years of sexual abuse at their hands. Prosecutors argued that they killed their parents to gain access to their $14 million inheritance.

MORE | Key figures in the murder case against the Menendez brothers

Earlier this month, Gascón announced that his office was reviewing new evidence in the case, including a letter Erik sent his cousin Andy Cano eight months before the murders that his lawyers say showed he was sexually abused by Jose. The office is also investigating rape allegations against Jose by former Menudo member Roy Rosselló.

Family members of the Menendez brothers held a news conference last week calling for their release.

Watch the full California lawsuit against Erik and Lyle Menendez (1993)