Prosecutors will recommend that a judge resentence Erik and Lyle Menendez for the 1989 killings of their parents in the family's Beverly Hills home, providing the brothers with a chance at freedom after 34 years behind bars. Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon announced Thursday that his office will call for a sentence of 50 years to life, the AP reports. Because they were younger than 26 at the time of the killings, he said, the brothers will be eligible for parole immediately. "I came to a place where I believe, under the law, resentencing is appropriate," Gascon said.
Prosecutors will make the request in court Friday. Some members of his staff oppose the recommendation, Gascon said, and may be in court at some point. A new trial is also possible, per Deadline. The brothers testified at their trial that their father had sexually molested them, and while the allegations were received with skepticism at the time, Gascon now sees them as "credible enough to warrant reconsideration by the court," per the New York Times. The prosecutor's office has been reviewing new evidence in the case.
Most family members have urged that the Menendez brothers be released, and multiple relatives sat in the first few rows of Thursday's news conference. The brothers, who were 18 and 21 at the time of the slayings of Jose and Kitty Menendez, are now in their 50s. Gascon said they worked on redemption and rehabilitation while in prison, per the AP. "I believe that they have paid their debt to society," he said. This file has been updated with Gascon's announcement. (More Menendez brothers stories.)
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