The public will be able to attend an upcoming court hearing in Van Nuys, California, for Lyle and Erik Menendez, who are serving life sentences for the 1989 murders of their parents. A lottery will decide who takes 16 seats in the courtroom.
The hearing in Los Angeles County Superior Court will address the brothers’ habeas corpus petition, which their attorneys filed last year seeking a review of possible new evidence. It seeks to vacate their first-degree murder convictions in pursuit of a lesser charge such as manslaughter, which could result in an early release from prison.
The Menendez brothers spent more than thirty years behind bars for fatally shooting their parents, Jose and Kitty, and their Beverly Hills home on the evening of August 20, 1989. Prosecutors argued that the killings were motivated by greed, while the brothers told the court During two trials in the early to mid-1990s, it emerged that they were sexually and physically abused as children.
They admitted to the murders, but claimed they shot their parents in self-defense because they feared for their lives.
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The hearing in the case is at 10 a.m. Monday in the Van Nuys West Courthouse on the ninth floor.
Tickets will be distributed to the public between 8 and 9 a.m. that morning, with tickets for seats released at 9:30 a.m., the Los Angeles County Superior Court announced Thursday. The 16 people who receive a seat will receive a badge to secure their place in the courtroom.
In their strive for liberation From state prison, Lyle and Erik Menendez are also set for a hearing on their criminal case, scheduled for December 11. Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon recommended to punish again for the brothers last month. However, the court date assigned by that recommendation will occur while new District Attorney Nathan Hochman is in office.
Gascón was rejected by voters in the November 5 elections.
Hochman has said he has yet to review the case before making his own decision on whether to recommend punitive action. The court hearing is scheduled just nine days after he officially becomes LA County’s new district attorney on December 2.
In a third and final path to parole, the Menendez brothers have also asked Governor Gavin Newsom for clemency — a move supported by Gascón, who publicly expressed his announced support and wrote letters to Newsom advocating for it. But earlier this week, Newsom said he would leaves a decision on the brothers’ case to Hochman.
“The Governor will await the elected district attorney’s review and analysis of the Menendez case before making any clemency decisions,” Newsom’s office said in a statement.
Several family members stood by Lyle and Erik Menendez in their efforts to be released from prison. They defended their abuse allegations, saying they have shown positive behavior in prison and deserve to be released. In mid-October, they held a press conference to publicly announce their support.
Meanwhile, at least one of the brothers’ relatives, their uncle and mother’s brother Kitty, has spoken out against a possible early release.
