Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón said Thursday his office will recommend that a judge re-sentence Erik and Lyle Menendez, who are serving life prison terms without the possibility of parole for killing their parents in their Beverly Hills mansion in 1989, in light of new evidence of alleged sexual abuse by their father.
Gascón said prosecutors will recommend that the brothers' sentence of life without parole be rescinded, and they be re-sentenced for the pair of murder convictions, meaning a maximum of 50 years to life in prison, with the possibility of parole. He said that due to their ages at the time of the crime, they would be immediately eligible for parole.
It will be up to a judge to make the final determination. It was not immediately clear when a hearing on the matter might be held, although Gascón said his office would file the court papers on Friday.
Erik Menendez, now 53, and Lyle Menendez, now 56, are behind bars at Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego for the killings of Jose and Mary Louise "Kitty" Menendez.
"They have been in prison for nearly 35 years," Gascón said. "I believe that they have paid their debt to society and the system provides a vehicle for their case to be reviewed by a parole board. And if parole concurs with my assessment, and it will be their decision, then they will be released accordingly."
Gascón noted that there were dissenters in his office who believe the brothers should remain in prison, and he anticipated that some of them may even appear in court to argue against the re-sentencing recommendation. He said "they have a right to do so."
But Gascón said he believes that not only have the brothers served their time, they have also undertaken efforts while incarcerated to improve the lives of others, such as creating groups to help fellow inmates deal with untreated trauma, and on ways to "deal with other inmates who have physical disabilities and may be treated differently."
He said that in one case, Lyle Menendez even spoke out and negotiated on behalf of fellow inmates over conditions in prison.
But while he will recommend re-sentencing in a way that could lead to the brothers' release, Gascón insisted, "There is no excuse for murder. And I will never imply that what we're doing here is to excuse that behavior, because even if you get abused, the right path is to call the police, seek help. But I understand also how sometimes people get desperate. We often see women, for instance, that have been battered for years and sometimes they will murder their abuser out of desperation.
"I do believe the brothers were subjected to a tremendous amount of dysfunction in the home, and molestation," he said.
In court papers filed last year, attorneys for the brothers pointed to two new pieces of evidence they contend corroborate the brothers' allegations of long-term sexual abuse at the hands of their father -- a letter written by Erik Menendez to one of his cousins in early 1989, eight months before the August 1989 killings, and recent allegations by a former member of the Puerto Rican boy band Menudo that he was sexually abused by Jose Menendez as a teenager.
A group of family members supporting the brothers called earlier this month for the brothers to be released from state prison.
At an Oct. 16 news conference outside the downtown Los Angeles courthouse, Kitty Menendez's sister, Joan Andersen VanderMolen, said she struggled for many years to come to "terms with what happened in my sister's family."
"It was a nightmare none of us could have imagined, but as details of Lyle and Erik's abuse came to light, it became clear that their actions, while tragic, were the desperate response of two boys trying to survive the unspeakable (cruelty) of their father," she told a throng of reporters gathered for the news conference. "As their aunt, I had no idea of the extent of the abuse they suffered at the hands of my brother-in-law. None of us did."
One of the Menendez brothers' cousins, Karen VanderMolen, told reporters, "From the beginning, I believed Lyle and Erik were victims of their father's abuse. I grew up knowing and feeling something wasn't right. The feeling in their house and the father-son interactions were just off. But it was not until the first trial that the full horror of what they had to live through came to light. ... I cannot help but think of how things would be different if the world had known the truth back then, or if they had been the Menendez sisters.
"... What happened is tragic, but I forgive my cousins. I have forgiven them forever, because I know they were acting out of fear and desperation," she said.
Another of their cousins, Brian A. Andersen Jr., said he has known the two his whole life and "can tell you without a doubt that they are not the villains they've been portrayed as."
"They were boys -- young, scared and abused by their father in ways no child should ever experience," he said. "... The media focused so much on their actions that they never were able to tell the full story of their abuse that drove them to such desperate measures. When I think about the pain and suffering they endured, it breaks my heart to know that the system failed them so profoundly. They tried to protect themselves the only way they knew how. But instead of being seen as victims, they were vilified. Their father's abuse was dismissed, their trauma ignored and their truth mocked by millions."
He said the two "acted out of fear, but the jury never heard the full story. "
"If their trial were held today, their father's abuse would be front and center in their defense, and I believe the outcome would be very different," he added. "I am asking the District Attorney's Office, regardless of who the D.A. is or becomes, to reconsider their case with the knowledge we now have about their abuse. Lyle and Erik deserve a second chance -- a chance to heal, a chance to be free, and to live the rest of their lives without the shadow of their past hanging over them."
Gascón said earlier this month that attorneys in his office were reviewing whether the Menendez brothers could be entitled to have their case reheard or to be re-sentenced. He said he was "not leaning in any direction right now" and is "keeping an open mind," but that he would be the one to make the final decision.
Meanwhile, a victims' rights attorney representing Kitty Menendez's brother, Milton Andersen, said in a statement that her client believes justice was served and that his nephews should remain in prison. The attorney, Kathleen Cady, said this week that she has received information suggesting the letter allegedly sent by Erik Menendez to a cousin discussing sexual abuse is fraudulent and shouldn't be considered.
The case has been the subject of renewed public interest since the release of a recent Netflix documentary.
The brothers never denied carrying out the killings, but contended they were repeatedly sexually assaulted by their father and feared for their lives.
Prosecutors, however, said the killings were financially motivated, pointing to lavish spending sprees by the brothers after the killings and arguing they were guilty of first-degree murder.
The brothers' first trial ended with jurors unable to reach verdicts, deadlocking between first-degree murder and lesser charges including manslaughter. The second trial, which began in October 1995 and lacked much of the testimony centered on allegations of sexual abuse by Jose Menendez, ended with both brothers being convicted of first-degree murder and conspiracy.
The brothers have repeatedly appealed their convictions to no avail.
The court papers filed by defense attorneys last year included a copy of a handwritten letter allegedly sent by Erik Menendez to his cousin, Andy Cano. Attorneys contend the letter was only recently discovered by Cano's mother. Cano, who died of a drug overdose in 2003, testified in the brothers' first trial that Erik Menendez had told him about the molestation by his father when Erik was 13 years old, according to the court documents.
In the letter, Erik Menendez writes in part, "I've been trying to avoid dad. It's still happening Andy, but it's worse for me now. I can't explain it. ... I never know when it's going to happen and it's driving me crazy. Every night I stay up thinking he might come in. I need to put it out of my mind."
In court papers, Menendez brothers attorneys Mark Geragos and Cliff Gardner wrote that the new evidence "not only shows that Jose Menendez was very much a violent and brutal man who would sexually abuse children, but it strongly suggests that -- in fact -- he was still abusing Erik Menendez as late as December 1988. Just as the defense had argued all along."
Cady, however, suggested that letter was fraudulent, saying "it is much more likely that the letter, if written by Erik, was written in the last few years and not before the murders as the defense now suggests."
Defense attorneys have also cited allegations that surfaced last year in a Peacock documentary series, in which Roy Rosselló -- a former member of the boy band Menudo -- alleged that Jose Menendez drugged and sexually assaulted him when he was about 14 years old during a visit to the Menendez home in New Jersey in 1983 or 1984.
Jose Menendez was an executive at RCA Records, which signed Menudo to a recording contract.
"I know what he did to me in his house," Rosselló, now 55, said in the series. In another segment, he points to a picture of Jose Menendez and says, "That's the man here that raped me. That's the pedophile."
A declaration from Rosselló -- who also alleges Menendez sexually assaulted him on two other occasions in New York -- was attached to the court papers filed on behalf of the Menendez brothers last year.
The Menendez brothers' attorneys argue that the new evidence warrants a reopening of the case, saying it establishes "a prima facie case for relief."
"To resolve this case, jurors had to decide a single, critical question: was Jose Menendez molesting his sons?" the attorneys write in the court document. "Jurors making this determination did not know of Erik's letter to his cousin Andy, and they did not know that Jose Menendez had previously raped a 14-year-old boy."
As a result, the attorneys argue that the brothers are being "unlawfully" imprisoned.
"Newly discovered evidence directly supports the defense presented at trial and just as directly undercuts the state's case against (the brothers)," the attorneys contend in the document.
The papers asked that following a response from prosecutors, a judge "vacate the judgment and sentence imposed," or in the alternative schedule an evidentiary hearing.
Geragos told reporters that the two had resigned themselves to spending the rest of their lives in prison. He described an "amazing rehabilitation" by the two brothers, and said more than 20 relatives on both sides of the family are supporting them.