Nearly two dozen relatives of Lyle and Erik Menendez are uniting in Los Angeles on Wednesday to urge the district attorney to recommend the brothers — who are currently serving life behind bars — be resentenced.
Among the supporters expected to speak at Wednesday’s news conference are the brothers’ aunt, their cousins and actress and comedian Rosie O’Donnell, who has visited the siblings in prison.
In August 1989, Lyle Menendez, then 21, and Erik Menendez, then 18, shot and killed their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez, in the family’s Beverly Hills home.
Lyle Menendez with his attorney Jill Lansing in Los Angeles on March 9, 1994.
Ted Soqui/Sygma via Getty Images, FILE
Erik Menendez during his trial in Los Angeles, March 9, 1994.
Ted Soqui/Sygma via Getty Images, FILE
Prosecutors alleged Lyle and Erik Menendez killed their wealthy parents for financial gain, while the defense argued the brothers acted in self-defense after enduring years of sexual abuse by their father.
The brothers’ first trials ended in mistrials. In 1996, at the end of a second trial — in which the judge barred much of the sex abuse evidence — Lyle and Erik Menendez were convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to two consecutive life prison terms without the possibility of parole.
Erik Menendez and his brother Lyle Menendez in Los Angeles during their trial on March 9, 1994.
Ted Soqui/Sygma via Getty Images, FILE
Now, the brothers have two tracks to potential freedom.
One track depends on Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón asking for resentencing, based on factors including rehabilitation.
The other track is new evidence Gascón’s office is evaluating: allegations from a member of the boy band Menudo who said he was molested by Jose Menendez, and a letter Erik Menendez wrote to a cousin eight months before the murders detailing his alleged abuse.
An Oct. 31, 2016, photo provided by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation shows Erik Menendez, left, and a Feb. 22, 2018 photo provided by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation shows Lyle Menendez.
California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation via AP, FILE
Erik Menendez’s cousin testified about the alleged abuse at trial, but Erik Menendez’s letter — which would have corroborated the cousin’s testimony — wasn’t unearthed until several years ago, according to the brothers’ attorney, Mark Geragos.
“Given the totality of the circumstances, I don’t think that they deserve to be in prison until they die,” Gascón told ABC News.
Gascón said he plans to make his resentencing decision this month. If Gascón recommends resentencing, his recommendation will go to a judge to decide whether the brothers will be released, receive a lesser sentence or get a new trial.
