What's Next for Menendez Brothers

UPDATE Oct 31, 2024 1:00 AM CDT

LA County's district attorney said Wednesday that California's governor should grant the clemency requests the Menendez brothers submitted to him Monday, NBC News reports. "I strongly support clemency for Erik and Lyle Menendez, who are currently serving sentences of life without possibility of parole," George Gascón said in a statement. This effort is separate from an effort to resentence the brothers; if granted clemency, they would be released immediately rather than resentenced. A hearing in the resentencing effort is scheduled for Dec. 11, but in what Variety refers to as a snag, Gascón, who is running for reelection and not doing well in the polls, may no longer be in office by then. The clemency requests are seen as an alternate route to their release, but it's not yet clear whether California Gov. Gavin Newsom is inclined to grant the requests.

Oct 25, 2024 10:23 AM CDT

An attorney for the Menendez brothers believes they could be home in time for Thanksgiving after Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón announced Thursday that he will recommend the pair serving life in prison without parole for the 1989 murders of their parents be resentenced to 50 years to life. A judge will rule on the resentencing at a hearing Gascón expects to be scheduled in 30 to 45 days, per CNN. If Lyle and Erik Menendez are resentenced as recommended, it will fall to a parole board to decide whether release is appropriate. Because the brothers were under 26 at the time of the murders (Lyle was 21, Erik was 18), they'll be considered youth offenders, making them eligible for parole immediately, per CNN and ABC News.

Gascón tells CNN there's a good chance of parole given that the brothers have been "model prisoners" during the 34 years they've spent locked up. "Not only have they worked on their own self-improvement, but they have done a lot of work to better the life of those around them, which that part is unusual," he says. They created groups to address untreated trauma and the treatment of those with physical disabilities, Gascón notes. Lyle Menendez reportedly also provided hospice care to inmates. "What they did was horrible. They premeditated the murder of their parents and killed them. But I think they're different people today," the DA adds.

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"We are continuing to be optimistic that Erik and Lyle will be released soon, and best-case scenario would be for us to have Erik and Lyle home for the busy week of Thanksgiving," the brothers' cousin, Karen VanderMolen, tells ABC, noting the week includes three family birthdays. Menendez attorney Mark Geragos says that timeframe is feasible. He expects a court hearing "well before" the 30-45 day period suggested by Gascón, per ABC. However, the AP quotes a criminal law professor as saying that's "awfully hopeful." The entire process is "likely to stretch out over months," the outlet reports, noting that if parole is recommended, California Gov. Gavin Newsom would have 150 days to overrule the board. (More Menendez brothers stories.)