In Los Angeles, the legal representatives for Lyle and Erik Menendez announced that California Governor Gavin Newsom has instructed the state parole board to conduct an investigation into the potential risk the brothers may pose to the public if they are released. This comes after the Menendez brothers have spent nearly thirty years incarcerated for the 1989 murders of their parents.
The parole board is tasked with performing a “comprehensive risk assessment” to determine if the brothers have undergone rehabilitation, as stated by defense attorneys Mark Geragos and Cliff Gardner. They expressed their gratitude for Governor Newsom’s decision to move forward with this evaluation.
“The family understands that the Governor’s move does not equate to a sentence commutation. However, this initial action signifies the Governor’s thoughtful decision to gather necessary information for determining if Erik and Lyle have done enough in the past 35 years in prison to earn a chance at life outside,” the attorneys conveyed in their official report.
Governor Newsom has directed the parole board to conclude their risk assessment within 90 days. Following this, a hearing will be held giving an opportunity for victims’ family members and prosecutors to engage in the proceedings, as per Newsom’s office.
On his podcast, Newsom emphasized that the objective is to ensure that the state conducts its responsibilities with thoroughness and clear visibility. “The fundamental query for the board is straightforward: Do Erik and Lyle Menendez present what can be termed an unreasonable risk to public safety today?” Newsom explained.
The standard in California law for granting parole is assessing if an inmate poses an unreasonable risk to public safety. This must be ascertained before a gubernatorial decision on commutation can be made.
The brothers are exploring several paths to secure their release, which include seeking clemency from Newsom, a resentencing hearing, and potentially, a new trial. Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman stated his opposition to a new trial but has not decided whether to support a resentencing request that could facilitate the brothers’ release. Newsom has expressed he will wait for Hochman’s review to complete before making any clemency decision.
A proposed resentencing motion for the Menendez brothers remains scheduled for a March hearing, potentially making them eligible for parole immediately.
The conviction of the Menendez brothers involved the murder of their father, Jose, an entertainment executive, and their mother, Kitty. They were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. In recent years, they renewed their bid for liberty after their legal team claimed the emergence of fresh evidence regarding their father’s sexual abuse, which has gained substantial support from their extended family.
Hochman submitted an informal plea urging the Los Angeles County Superior Court to dismiss a habeas petition lodged by the Menendez attorneys in 2023, aiming to reevaluate their case revolving around allegations that Erik had been subjected to sexual abuse by Jose Menendez.
The District Attorney cast doubts on the abuse claims, arguing they weren’t critical to the case and rejecting the stance that the murders were an act of self-defense. He also portrayed the brothers’ testimony on the alleged abuse as unreliable given their multiple contradictory accounts of the violent incidents.
The Menendez family condemned Hochman’s stance, labeling it “abhorrent” and accusing him of dismissing the brothers’ alleged trauma.
A family statement issued last week emphasized that the justice system failed the brothers historically and continues to do so, positing that new evidence shouldn’t be requisite for justice.
At the time of the crime, Lyle Menendez was 21, and Erik was 18. They confessed to shooting their parents, claiming they feared imminent death at the hands of their parents to prevent Erik from disclosing long-standing molestation by their father. Prosecutors at the trial claimed there was no proof of such abuse, with multiple details of the alleged molestation omitted in the 1996 trial, focusing instead on a narrative of the murders being financially motivated.
The previous Los Angeles County District Attorney, George Gascón, had suggested resentencing the brothers to 50 years to life the previous year, a proposal that followed his unsuccessful reelection campaign against Hochman.
The potential resentencing will assess their conduct and rehabilitation during their imprisonment. Hochman has been consulting with the brothers’ relatives while examining their files, which encompass numerous pages of prison documentation.
Interest in the case has notably increased since the arrival of the true-crime drama “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story” on Netflix.
