The extended family of Eric and Lyle Menendez is expected to head to a Los Angeles courthouse on Wednesday afternoon for a news conference to advocate for the brothers’ release from prison while prosecutors review new evidence to determine whether they should serve a life sentence for their murder. Fathers.
Eric Menendez, now 53, and his brother Lyle Menendez, 56, are currently incarcerated in state prison without the possibility of parole after being convicted of murdering their parents, Jose and Mary Louise (Kitty) Menendez, in Beverly Hills. The palace has existed for more than 35 years.
Nearly two dozen family members, along with the brothers’ attorney, Mark Geragos, and celebrity advocate Rosie O’Donnell, are expected outside the Clara Shortridge-Foltz Criminal Justice Center.
The press conference takes place less than two weeks after Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón announced that his office was looking into the brothers’ case again after new evidence was presented.
The new evidence includes a letter written by Eric Menendez, which his lawyers say confirms allegations that he was sexually abused by his father.
Eric and Lyle Menendez were convicted 28 years ago and sentenced to life in prison without parole.
In this October 20, 1995, file photo, Lyle Menendez looks up during testimony at his brother Eric’s retrial for the shotgun murders of their parents in Los Angeles.
Steve Grayson/UPI via AP, Pool, File)
The brothers, who were 18 and 21 at the time of the murder, initially confirmed to police that they had stopped by their parents’ house on the night of the murder to retrieve Eric’s identity while they were on their way to a movie and found out. Their parents are dead.
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However, in the end, Eric confided in his therapist that he and his brother were responsible for the killings and after the therapist shared the information with his wife, the confession eventually reached the police.
Lyle and Eric were eventually arrested for the murder and their trial began an era of high-profile televised criminal trials that captured the public imagination during the 1990s.
Despite defense arguments that Jose had sexually molested his sons for years and that they had killed their parents out of fear, they were found guilty of first-degree murder.
Prosecutors asserted at the time that there was no evidence of any harassment. They said the children were after their parents’ multi-million dollar estate. But the brothers said they killed their parents in self-defense after enduring a lifetime of physical, emotional and sexual abuse.
FILE – Eric and Lyle Menendez are seen during their trial.
Ted Sockey/Sigma via Getty Images
They served the first part of their sentences in separate prisons, until they were reunited in 2018 and allowed to serve their sentences in the same facility.
In recent years, many have wondered whether there might have been a different outcome for the Menendez brothers if they stood trial today, given society’s changing understanding of sexual assault and domestic violence.
Earlier this month, Gascón said there was no doubt the brothers committed the 1989 murders, but his office would… Review new evidence He will make a decision on whether re-sentencing is warranted.
The brothers’ lawyers said the family believed from the beginning that they should have been charged with manslaughter, not murder. Geragos previously said manslaughter was not an option for the jury during the second trial that ultimately led to the brothers’ murder conviction.
The case has gained new momentum in recent weeks after Netflix began streaming the true crime drama Monsters: The Story of Lyle and Eric Menendez.
— With files from The Associated Press
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