Menendez Brothers' press conference: Resentencing recommended by LA DA

LOS ANGELES - BREAKING UPDATE: Menendez Brothers: Resentencing recommended by LA DA Gascón

Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón said Thursday his office will recommend that a judge re-sentence Erik and Lyle Menendez, who are serving life prison terms without the possibility of parole for killing their parents in their Beverly Hills mansion in 1989, in light of new evidence of alleged sexual abuse by their father.

Gascón said prosecutors will recommend that the brothers' sentence of life without parole be rescinded, and they be re-sentenced for the pair of murder convictions, meaning a maximum of 50 years to life in prison, with the possibility of parole. He said that due to their ages at the time of the crime, they would be immediately eligible for parole.

It will be up to a judge to make the final determination. It was not immediately clear when a hearing on the matter might be held, although Gascón said his office would file the court papers on Friday.

Erik Menendez, now 53, and Lyle Menendez, now 56, are behind bars at Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego for the killings of Jose and Mary Louise "Kitty" Menendez.

"They have been in prison for nearly 35 years," Gascón said. "I believe that they have paid their debt to society and the system provides a vehicle for their case to be reviewed by a parole board. And if parole concurs with my assessment, and it will be their decision, then they will be released accordingly."

Gascón noted that there were dissenters in his office who believe the brothers should remain in prison, and he anticipated that some of them may even appear in court to argue against the re-sentencing recommendation whenever a hearing is held. He said "they have a right to do so."

If the judge accepts a recommendation of resentencing with time served, it is possible the Menendez brothers could be out of prison by Nov. 26, which was their originally scheduled court date.

Their defense attorney, Mark Geragos, said if all goes well, Erik and Lyle would be home by Thanksgiving. 

This comes after an investigation that was spurred by new evidence presented to the DA's office - recently revealed allegations that their father also molested Roy Rossello, a former member of the boy band Menudo, in the 1980s, and a letter that Erik Menendez wrote to his cousin, Andy Cano, which surfaced in 2015, years after his death.

The brothers have been serving life sentences without parole for the killings of their parents Jose and Kitty Menendez in 1989 in Beverly Hills.

Erik and Lyle were 21 and 18 at the time of the murders. The brothers never denied carrying out the killings, and said they feared their parents were about to kill them to stop people from finding out that Jose Menendedz had sexually abused Erik for years.

The Menendez brothers were tried twice for their parents’ murders, with the first trial ending in a hung jury.

Prosecutors at the time contended that there was no evidence of molestation, and many details in their story of sexual abuse were not permitted in the second trial. The district attorney’s office also said back then that the brothers were after their parents’ multimillion-dollar estate.

In 1995, the brothers were retried, but this time the judge did not allow cameras in the courtroom and placed limits on the defense's presentation of evidence regarding the abuse allegations. During the second trial, the brothers were found guilty of first-degree murder of both their parents and conspiracy to commit murder. Both brothers were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. They have repeatedly appealed their convictions to no avail. 

The case drew significant media attention due to the family's wealth, the gruesome nature of the killings, and the defense's strategy during the trial. The courtroom became a battleground of narratives, pitting accusations of cold-blooded murder for inheritance against claims of self-defense rooted in a history of abuse.

Interest in the case has recently been renewed by the release of Netflix's "Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story," and an upcoming documentary, in which the brothers will tell their side of the story.

Last week, nearly two dozen relatives of the brothers held a joint press conference pushing for the release of Erik and Lyle, saying they deserve to be free after decades behind bars. Several family members have said that in today’s world — which is more aware of the impact of sexual abuse — the brothers would not have been convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life.