As Los Angeles’ infamous Menendez brothers moved closer to freedom despite life sentences without parole for the 1989 shotgun murders of their parents, their defense team and more than a dozen family members gathered outside the city’s Hall of Justice on Wednesday to to call on prosecutor George Gascón to push for a new sentence that could set them free before the end of the year.

After a mistrial, the brothers were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. A new conviction under California’s new laws could be controversial because the district attorney overseeing their case could be re-elected in less than a month.

But the brothers’ lawyers argue they should have been convicted of manslaughter, not murder. If they had, they would have already been released from prison.

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An undated photo of the Menendez family as it appears on screen during a panel at CrimeCon 2024 in Nashville on June 2. The brothers, Lyle and Erik, were convicted of fatally shooting their parents in 1989. (Michael Ruiz/Fox News Digital)

They filed two efforts toward release earlier this year: a habeas petition asking a court to review new evidence, and a petition to Gascon under the new law, which gives district attorneys the authority to make recommendations on of punitive measures.

Erik and Joseph “Lyle” Menendez, the sons of former RCA Records executive Jose Menendez and wife Mary “Kitty” Menendez, have been in prison since the 1990s after killing their parents in a shotgun massacre at their Beverly Hills mansion in 1989.

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Erik Menendez, center, and his brother Lyle, left, are pictured in Beverly Hills on August 12, 1991, after they were accused of killing their parents, Jose and Mary Louise Menendez. (Mike Nelson/AFP via Getty Images)

They accused their father of sexual abuse and fired so many shots that they had to go back to the car to reload before firing the shot that killed their mother, who authorities said had tried to escape after being wounded.

The scene was so gory that one of the crime scene investigators previously told Fox News Digital that a detective held an umbrella over his head to stop dripping blood and viscera.

“It comes down to one thing,” retired Beverly Hills forensic specialist Clark Fogg said earlier this month. “The reason they are in prison is because they brutally murdered their father and mother, not poisoned them, but shot them to death beyond the ceiling.”

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The Menendez brothers – Erik, left, and Lyle – on the steps of their Beverly Hills home in November 1989. (Ronald L. Soble/Los Angeles Times)

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At the heart of their appeal is a letter revealed by Erik Menendez to his cousin Andy Cano earlier this year, allegedly written months before the murders, and containing evidence that their father was sexually assaulting the sender when they killed him.

Cano testified at the trial that his cousin told him about the abuse when he was just 13 years old, but prosecutors downplayed the sexual abuse allegations, saying the brothers only wanted to live a lavish lifestyle with their inheritance, pointing out everything they bought after that. the massacres, including a Porsche, Rolex watches and a restaurant.

According to Geragos, the letter strengthens Cano’s testimony.

Pictured is a letter allegedly written by Erik Menendez and sent to his cousin Andy Cano eight months before the murders of Jose and Kitty Menendez. (California State Supreme Court, Los Angeles County)

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Cano’s mother found the letter in 2015. He died in 2003.

Gascón has indicated for months that he may be open to a reduced sentence.

If they are sentenced to anything less than life without parole, they could be immediately eligible for parole.

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“This is not a political issue. This is about truth, justice and healing,” said Anamaria Baralt, Jose Menendez’s niece and a cousin of the brothers. “Lyle and Erik deserve a chance to heal, and our family deserves a chance to heal with them.”

A file photo shows Lyle and Erik Menendez in jail jumpsuits during their murder trial in Los Angeles. (Ted Soqui/Sygma via Getty Images)

She and more than a dozen relatives of the brothers and their slain parents attended Wednesday’s briefing to support their release.

Many of them argued that evidence of Jose Menendez’s abuse of his sons would have been a bigger part of their defense if the trial had taken place today, and that they could have received lighter sentences as a result.

The Menendez brothers are now both in their 50s.

They were 21 and 18 years old at the time of the murders.

Attorney Mark Geragos speaks before members of the Menendez family during a press conference to announce developments in the case of brothers Erik and Lyle Menendez, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

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Between 2005 and earlier this year, Geragos noted, they had exhausted all possible appeals and had resigned themselves to the idea that they would never be released. Both have been exemplary prisoners during that time, he said.

“You could record two songs on there,” he told reporters. “You could just become a hardcore or, unforgiving, repeat offender, or you could do what they did: create programs, counsel people, develop great programs, mentor people, go to college, get degrees.”

After the briefing, the family was expected to meet with Gascon’s office as part of their quest for revenge. If convicted, they could be home as early as Thanksgiving, Geragos said. If they are successful in their separate petition for habeas corpus, they could face new lawsuits.

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Fox News’ Audrey Conklin, Mollie Markowitz and Louis Casiano contributed to this report.