Erik (left) and Lyle Menendez talk in a Los Angeles courtroom on February 2, 1995.

Kim Kulish/AFP via Getty Images

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Kim Kulish/AFP via Getty Images

Erik and Lyle Menendez should be resentenced for the 1989 murders of their parents, the Los Angeles County district attorney recommended Thursday, citing recent public attention on the case in the wake of a new documentary about the brothers.

The recommendation will be presented to a Los Angeles Superior Court judge and the brothers, who are serving life sentences, would be eligible for parole, District Attorney George Gascón said.

“Under the law, it is appropriate to impose punishment,” Gascón said, making it clear that he still believed the crime of murder had been committed, but that there had been extenuating circumstances that made it appropriate to impose punishment .

“I understand that sometimes people can get desperate,” Gascón said.

More than three decades after the couple was convicted of the brutal murder of their parents, the case continues to draw national attention, including a recent Netflix series about the siblings and deep dives by social media sleuths over the years.

On August 20, 1989, Jose and Kitty Menendez were shot to death in their Beverly Hills home while watching television.

Two juries deadlocked in 1994 after Lyle and Erik testified that they shot their parents in self-defense. The brothers said they feared their parents would kill them to prevent stories from coming out about their alleged abuse of their sons.

The brothers said Jose, a record executive, had sexually abused them, while Kitty turned a blind eye to their assault.

After a second trial, the brothers were ultimately convicted of shooting their parents. The two men were 18 and 21 years old at the time of the murders.