Los Angeles
CNN
—
Brothers Erik and Lyle Menendez, jailed more than 30 years ago for the brutal murders of their parents in Beverly Hills, may be just weeks away from answers in their bid for freedom. But the actions of a newly installed district attorney have cast doubt on whether their fight for release will be successful.
Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman announced last week he opposes the Menendez’s request for a new trial. The prosecutor argued the brothers’ claim that new evidence shows they were sexually abused by their father “does not constitute self-defense.”
Though a judge will make the final decision on whether to grant a new trial, Hochman’s resistance could prove to be a significant setback in the brothers’ legal efforts. Hochman inherited the Menendez case from his progressive predecessor, George Gascón, who had championed their efforts for release.
The complex case has many possibilities, and the pursuit of a new trial is just one path the brothers are exploring in their quest to rejoin society.
The brothers, who are serving life sentences without the possibility of parole, launched a three-part legal effort in 2023 seeking their release: a request for clemency to Gov. Gavin Newsom, a petition for an adjusted sentence that would allow them parole and a call for a new trial based on claims of unearthed evidence of abuse by their father.
Each of these efforts were made under the purview of Gascón, who seized on growing social media support for the brothers to advocate for their resentencing. Gascón pointed to Erik and Lyle’s rehabilitative efforts in prison, the support of all but one of their family members, as well as the public’s deepened understanding of male sexual abuse since the brothers’ 1996 conviction.
Here is where the brothers’ legal efforts stand and what comes next in their quest for release.
In May 2023, riding a growing social media movement calling for Erik and Lyle Menendez’s release, the brothers’ attorneys filed a request for a new trial, known as a habeas petition. They claimed new evidence of sexual abuse by the siblings’ father had arisen since their trials in the 1990s.
Though the decision ultimately lies with a judge, Hochman on Friday urged the Los Angeles County Superior Court to reject their request, threatening to upend the powerful momentum driving the brothers’ case.
Hochman accused the brothers of telling a “continuum of lies” during their trials and expressed doubt the evidence presented by their attorneys, including a 1988 letter from Erik Menendez referencing the alleged abuse, is truly new.
“If this letter truly existed, the defense counsel would have absolutely used it at the trial because it would have helped corroborate … Erik Menendez’s testimony,” Hochman said.
During their high-profile trials, the brothers admitted responsibility for the killings of their parents, Kitty and Jose, but argued they should not be convicted of premeditated murder. In their first trial, which featured separate juries for each brother, Erik and Lyle testified they had endured a lifetime of physical and sexual abuse by their father and believed their mother was aware and chose to do nothing. Their lawyers argued the pair killed their parents because they feared for their lives.
The first trial ended in with a deadlocked jury for each man, leading to a second trial in which the judge barred most of the sexual abuse evidence. Both brothers were convicted of murder and sentenced to life without parole. If the evidence of abuse had been allowed to be presented in the second trial, their attorneys have argued, the brothers would have been convicted of manslaughter instead of first-degree murder.
But Hochman slammed their argument on Friday and said evidence to corroborate the abuse allegations is “extremely lacking.”
“Sexual abuse is abhorrent, and we will prosecute sexual abuse in any form it comes,” he said. “But sexual abuse in this situation, while it may have been a motivation for Erik and Lyle to do what they did, does not constitute self-defense.”
The brothers now await a decision from the judge.
The brothers’ resentencing request, which could make them eligible for parole, appears to be their most prominent legal avenue, but Hochman has yet to announce his recommendation in that case. He said he expects to decide ahead of a two-day hearing for the brothers on March 20 and 21.
California is one of the few states where district attorneys can request a new sentence on behalf of convicted criminals. The former district attorney, Gascón, filed a resentencing motion on behalf of the brothers in October, but Hochman has remained tight-lipped since taking office about whether he will support the effort.
If the resentencing petition is granted, the brothers’ sentence could be lessened to life with possibility of parole. Because the siblings were under 26 when they committed the crimes, they would be immediately eligible for youthful parole under California law.
“Unlike a habeas petition, which allows the court to focus on the trial itself, a resentencing motion allows the court to focus on rehabilitation and other factors, as well,” Hochman said in a video on his website.
In his argument on the brothers’ behalf, Gascón called them “model prisoners by all accounts.” He pointed to their rehabilitative effort in prison, including efforts to create murals and green spaces in the prison.
“We’re very sure not only that the brothers have rehabilitated and will be safe to be reintegrated into our society, but they have paid their dues, not only for the crimes that they committed but because of all the other things they have done to improve the lives of so many others,” Gascón said in October.
If the brothers receive a new sentence making them parole eligible, they would then have to appear for a hearing with a parole board. The parole board could either deny their request or recommend to the governor that they be granted parole.
If the parole board recommends that parole be granted, the decision will go to Newsom’s desk, where he will have 120 days to grant, reverse or modify the decision.
Though the district attorney may have dampened the brothers’ chances of getting a new trial, Erik and Lyle Menendez still have two other avenues for release: resentencing or clemency.
Gov. Newsom has the power to commute the brothers’ sentences, which would immediately free them from prison. The governor has said he will wait to decide until Hochman has fully reviewed the case.
But Newsom on Wednesday took a step closer to his decision, ordering the state Board of Parole Hearings to investigate whether the brothers would pose an “unreasonable risk” to the public if they were released from prison.
The report, which Newsom wants within 90 days, will also be shared with Hochman and the Los Angeles Superior Court judges who are considering the brothers’ separate resentencing request.
Though Erik and Lyle’s fate is uncertain, the brothers and their family have spoken hopefully about what their life may look like if they are released.
“It’s a very new concept for us, this idea of hope for freedom,” Lyle Menendez said in an interview from prison on TMZ’s “Two Angry Men” podcast last week.
Erik told TMZ he got married while incarcerated, and the couple shares a daughter, who he is eager to be united with.
While imprisoned at RJ Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego, the brothers have created several rehabilitative programs for the prison population, including groups for meditation and processing childhood trauma, according to Gascón’s motion. Erik cofounded a support group for disabled and elderly inmates, among several other programs.
The brothers told TMZ they plan to continue that work if they are released. Erik said his “primary focus” will be supporting people with primary trauma, many of whom sent him heartfelt letters in prison.
“I want to be an advocate for people that are suffering in silence,” he told TMZ. “I get thousands of letters from people who have who describe horrific childhood trauma that they have endured, that they are ashamed to speak out of. That’s just got to end.”
All but one of their family members have expressed support for the siblings’ release. Several Menendez relatives on Friday demanded that the courts right what they called a “decades-long injustice.”
“Our family has been waiting 35 years for the justice system to acknowledge what we have always known. We are so incredibly proud of the men Erik and Lyle have become – men who have dedicated their lives to helping others, despite believing they would never have a second chance,” read a statement from the family-led Justice for Erik and Lyle Coalition.