Will the M brothers be released? – First post

Lyle and Erik Menendez, the two brothers whose gruesome 1989 murder of their wealthy parents was the subject of a recent Netflix series, could be released from prison after a U.S. attorney said Thursday he would ask a judge to to re-examine their judgments.

The couple were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the shotgun killings at the family’s swanky Beverly Hills home, after a blockbuster trial that rocked the United States and made headlines around the world.

Prosecutors at the time argued that the two had plotted to murder Jose and Mary Louise “Kitty” Menendez to expedite a $14 million inheritance.

But their supporters said they were victims of sustained sexual and physical abuse and called it quits after years of suffering at the hands of a tyrannical father.

“After a very careful review of all the arguments … I believe that resentencing is appropriate under the law and I will recommend that to a court tomorrow,” Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon told reporters Thursday.

Gascon said his recommendation was that the brothers be retried for murder, a charge that carries a sentence of 50 years in prison.

“Because they were under 26 at the time of these crimes, they would be eligible for immediate parole.”

Gascon, who faces a tough re-election fight in November, said that while he does not condone the violent murders committed by the Menendez brothers – then ages 19 and 21 – he believes they were specific circumstances act.

“If you are being abused, the right thing to do is to call the police and seek help. But I also understand that sometimes people are desperate.”

‘Compassionate’

Erik Menendez, now 53, and Lyle Menendez, now 56, have spent nearly 35 years in prison since their conviction.

Her cousin Karen Vander Molen welcomed Gascon’s “compassionate” announcement.

“We know this was not an easy decision, but it is the right one,” she said.

“This is about truth, justice and healing. It’s time for Lyle and Erik to come home.”

She said the decision “gives us all hope that the truth will finally come to light and Erik and Lyle can begin to recover from the horrors of their past.”

It will be up to a judge to make the final decision on Gascon’s recommendation, which he acknowledged was not unanimous even within his own department.

It was not immediately clear when a hearing on the matter would be held, although Gascon said his office would file court papers on Friday.

Legal experts told local media that the brothers would not be leaving prison any time soon as they still face a long trial.

Global headlines

Her first trial, which began in 1993, was one of the first televised murder cases in the United States and made daily headlines around the world. The trial ended in a mistrial due to a jury deadlock, but they were found guilty in a second trial.

Last year, lawyers filed a court motion presenting new evidence that they say supports Jose Menendez’s history of sexual abuse.

The new evidence included a letter Erik wrote to a cousin months before the murders that said: “I tried to avoid Dad. It still happens… Every night I stay awake thinking he might come in.”

Roy Rossello, a former member of the 1980s boy band Menudo, said in a documentary released last year that he was drugged and raped by Jose Menendez in the 1980s.

Earlier this month, Gascon told reporters he had “a moral and ethical obligation to review what is presented to us.”

His comments came two weeks after the release of Netflix crime drama “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.” The streaming giant also released a documentary last week called “The Menendez Brothers.”

Gascon said the Netflix show led to numerous calls to his office about the case.

Agence France Presse