CNN
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More than thirty years after Lyle and Erik Menendez were convicted of murdering their parents and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, the brothers now see a path to their possible release.

Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón will recommend Friday that a judge resent the siblings — a decision that was the culmination of a review that followed after attorneys said in 2023 they had new evidence pointing to abuse by their father.

“I will never excuse a murder, and those were brutal, premeditated murders,” Gascón told CNN on Thursday. “They were rightly convicted at the time they were tried. They were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. I just think that given the current state of the law and given our assessment of their behavior in prison, they deserve the opportunity to be re-evaluated and perhaps reintegrated into the community.”

A hearing on the case could take place within 30 to 45 days, when a Los Angeles Superior Court judge will ultimately decide whether to resentence the brothers. Gascon said he supports sentencing the brothers to life in prison, with the possibility of parole — which normally would mean 50 years to life. But because the crimes occurred when the brothers were under 26 years old, they would have been eligible for juvenile parole under California law.

Gascón called the brothers “model prisoners” and told CNN he believes there is a good chance they will be released on parole if the decision is reached by the parole board. An attorney for one of the brothers said he hopes they will be home by Thanksgiving.

The reexamination of the case comes more than 35 years after the fatal 1989 shooting of Jose and Kitty Menendez in their Beverly Hills mansion. Their sons, who were 21 and 18 at the time, were arrested less than a year later in 1990 and convicted of first-degree murder in 1996.

During the two high-profile trials, the brothers did not deny killing their parents, but argued that they should not be convicted because they acted in self-defense after suffering a lifetime of physical and sexual abuse at the hands of their father. The first trial — one of the first televised cases — ended in a mistrial after jurors deadlocked over the charges. In their second trial, much of the defense evidence about sexual abuse was excluded, and the brothers were found guilty in 1996 and sentenced to life in prison.

Several factors ultimately led to the sentencing recommendation, but whether the brothers – now in their 50s – could be released from prison remains uncertain. Here’s what led to the decision and what could happen next:

Although Gascón believes Lyle and Erik Menendez were rightly convicted at their trial more than three decades ago, they deserve a chance to be reevaluated, he told CNN’s Stephanie Elam on Thursday. Gascón said he believes the brothers were sexually abused prior to the murders and that they have served enough time behind bars.

Gascón’s decision was made just an hour before he made the announcement Thursday because there were vastly different opinions within his office on the matter, he told CNN. Multiple factors played a role in the decision to recommend a new sentence, including the fact that multiple family members “made it very clear that not only could there have been sexual abuse, but they say this was a very dysfunctional and very violent home, and that was the case for many years,” Gascón said.

“I think they’ve served enough time,” he said.

Gascón’s reexamination of the case came after lawyers for the Menendez brothers filed a habeas corpus petition in 2023, citing what they say is new evidence, as well as a recent California law on resentencing, in which the court could reduce sentences in similar cases to consider.

Among the new evidence, the 2023 petition asked a court for an affidavit from former Menudo boy band member Roy Rosselló, who claimed Jose Menendez sexually assaulted him in the 1980s. The attorneys also said a letter Erik Menendez wrote to a cousin months before the murders references the abuse he suffered.

Gascón, who is campaigning for re-election next month on a platform that includes sentencing reform, told CNN that times have changed when it comes to how the public and the courts treat victims of sexual abuse.

The prosecutor’s office also took into account the brothers’ behavior during their captivity, and they have shown “an enormous amount of effort to rehabilitate,” Gascón said.

‘They have been model prisoners in every respect. Not only have they worked on their own self-improvement, but they have also done a lot of work to improve the lives of those around them. that part is unusual,” Gascón told CNN, indicating that the men had formed groups to address how to deal with untreated trauma and to help prisoners with physical disabilities.

Citing their behavior over the past three decades in prison, Gascón said he believes there is a good chance the brothers will be released on parole.

“What they did was terrible. They had premeditated the murder of their parents and killed them. But I think today they are different people, and we base our opinion on the behavior of the last 35 years,” Gascón said.

However, the decision on whether the brothers should be released on parole will ultimately rest with the parole board if the court agrees with the prosecution on the new sentencing, the prosecutor said.

When asked about mounting criticism from opponents who suggested that reconsidering the Menendez brothers’ sentence was a political move, Gascón said, “There’s nothing political about this,” adding that there have been more than 300 resentencings in the province has taken place since he came to power in December 2020. including 28 for murder.

Thursday’s decision brought a glimmer of hope to the brothers’ lawyers and family, who said they expect the men will soon be reunited with loved ones and have a life outside prison.

“I believe they will be home before Thanksgiving,” one of the brothers’ attorneys, Mark Geragos, said Thursday.

“We are grateful that the District Attorney’s Office has recognized not only the extraordinary contributions Erik and Lyle made in prison, but also the role that sexual abuse played in their actions,” another attorney, Cliff Gardner, told CNN .

The petition for resentencing will be filed Friday with accompanying evidence supporting Gascon’s recommendation, said Nancy Theberge, deputy in charge of Gascón’s resentencing unit.

Next, her unit will work with the defense and court staff to set dates for the next proceeding, she said. Once a date for the hearing is set, the defense can decide whether the brothers want to be physically present in the courtroom or appear via video or conference. All arguments and evidence will be admitted at that time. The judge will make a ruling based on what is presented, Theberge said.

“We’re just starting the process,” she said.

Regardless of the recommendation for recusal, the habeas corpus petition filed last year will be heard in November. The defense asked the court to either vacate the brothers’ conviction and sentence or allow discovery and an evidentiary hearing at which they can present evidence, the petition said.

But if the defense team agrees to the prosecutor’s request for resentencing, they can withdraw that petition — which would also become moot if the court agrees to a resentencing, Gascón told CNN on Thursday.

“I disagree with the habeas arguments. I think the sentencing was appropriate given what it said,” Gascón told CNN. “But I do believe that repression is an appropriate means to provide them with some relief.”

The brothers’ story has gained new interest following the September release of the Netflix series “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story,” co-created by Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan. Netflix also released a documentary on the Menendez case this month, in which both men discuss what led to the murders.

Celebrity and criminal justice reform advocate Kim Kardashian, who has been vocal about her support of the brothers, thanked Gascón for “righting a significant injustice.”

“Your commitment to truth and honesty is commendable,” she wrote in a statement on Instagram Stories. “This case highlights the importance of challenging decisions and seeking the truth, even in the absence of guilt.”

Anamaria Baralt, Jose Menendez’s niece, called Gascón’s decision “brave and necessary.”

“Today is a day full of hope for our family,” she said Thursday. “Together we can ensure Erik and Lyle get the justice they deserve and finally come home.”