Los Angeles district attorney says he’ll recommend resentencing in decades-old Menendez brothers’

Los Angeles County’s district attorney said Thursday he’ll recommend that a judge resentence Lyle and Erik Menendez nearly 30 years after the brothers were convicted of the murders of their parents – a recommendation that he said would make them eligible for immediate parole.

“After very careful review of all arguments made from people on both sides of this equation, I came to a place where I believe under the law resentencing is appropriate and I am going to recommend that to a court tomorrow,” District Attorney George Gascón said at an afternoon news conference in Los Angeles.

The brothers have been serving life without the possibility of parole since their 1996 convictions of first-degree murder in the 1989 killings of their parents, Jose and Kitty, in their California mansion. Gascón’s decision to recommend a resentencing – the culmination of a review that came after defense attorneys said in 2023 they had new evidence pointing to abuse by their father – was made about an hour before he announced it, he 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 board concurs with my assessment … they will be released accordingly,” Gascón said in front of a packed room that included several media outlets and family members.

A Los Angeles Superior Court judge will ultimately decide whether to resentence the brothers, Gascón’s office said. While Gascón said he’d make his recommendation to the court Friday, a date for a hearing on the matter has not been determined, his office said. Nancy Theberge, deputy in charge of Gascón’s resentencing unit, hopes a hearing will be held in 30 to 45 days, she said.

Gascón said he supports the resentencing of the brothers to life with the possibility of parole – which normally would mean 50 years to life in prison. But because the crimes happened when the brothers were under 26 years old, under California law they would be eligible for youthful parole.