Erik and Lyle Menendez’s efforts to shorten their life sentences without parole remain in limbo following the ouster earlier this month of Los Angeles County’s top prosecutor, who recommended a new sentence that could pave the way for the release of the brothers.
But those efforts will go a step further Monday, when the siblings appear for a status conference to determine whether a sentencing hearing should remain scheduled for Dec. 11, an attorney for the brothers told NBC News.
Attorney Mark Geragos told NBC Los Angeles that Erik and Lyle will appear remotely from the San Diego jail where they are being held.
The brothers served 35 years for the murders of their parents, José and Kitty Menendez, at the family’s Beverly Hills home on August 20, 1989.
Last month, outgoing Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón said he supported reducing their sentences to 50 years to life — a reduction that would make them immediately eligible for parole.
A judge is responsible for rejecting or supporting Gascón’s decision.
Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón.
The recommendation came after a specialized unit within Gascón’s office, which aims to implement reformist criminal laws, reviewed the brothers’ case.
Although their crimes were brutal and premeditated, Gascón has admitted, the brothers have been model prisoners. They have paid their debt to society, he said, and no longer pose a risk to public safety.
Gascón’s decision was applauded by many members of the Mendendez family, who have called for the men’s release and highlighted the horrific abuse the siblings said they suffered at the hands of their father.
The brothers’ supporters have described the killings as a desperate act of self-defense – an accusation that echoes the defense mounted by the brothers’ legal team during their two murder trials in the 1990s.
Prosecutors said the abuse allegations were a false attempt to cover up what authorities described as the brothers’ true motive: securing access to their family’s multimillion-dollar estate.
The first trial ended with hung juries after being unable to reach a unanimous verdict. The brothers were convicted of first-degree murder at their second trial.
Gascón has acknowledged that his recommendation remains polarizing within his own office, with some prosecutors believing the abuse allegations while others argue the brothers should spend the rest of their lives behind bars.
Nathan Hochman on October 10 in Los Angeles.
New District Attorney Nathan Hochman, who will take office on December 2, has said he must review the facts, law and evidence in the case before making a decision. Multiple sources have said there was a “good chance” he would try to postpone the December 11 hearing.
The brothers have also sought their freedom through a pardon from California Governor Gavin Newsom and a petition seeking to challenge their beliefs.
That petition, filed in May 2023, contains what Geragos has described as evidence that José Menendez abused Erik Menendez in the months before the siblings killed their parents.
Both efforts remain ongoing.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
