Menendez brothers’ bid to be freed: Judge delays next month’s resentencing hearing

Erik and Lyle Menendez’s efforts to reduce their life-without-parole prison terms have been in limbo after the ouster earlier this month of Los Angeles County’s top prosecutor, who recommended a new sentence that could clear the way for the brothers’ release.

That uncertainty will remain — for now — after a judge ruled Monday that a Dec. 11 resentencing hearing should be delayed in part to give the county’s new district attorney time to review the case.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic, who also said he needed more time to review the recommendation, rescheduled the hearing for Jan. 30 and Jan. 31.

In a statement after the hearing, incoming district attorney Nathan Hochman said the delay would provide sufficient time to review what he described as an extensive case file and consult with prosecutors, defense lawyers and relatives.

“I look forward to thoroughly reviewing all the facts and the law to reach a fair and just decision, and then defend it in court,” he said.

The brothers were scheduled to make their first court appearance in years, but the remote feed from the San Diego prison where they are incarcerated was hampered by technical issues. Two of their aunts testified during Monday’s status conference, making what a lawyer for the siblings described during a brief news conference as “impassioned pleas” for Erik and Lyle to be sent home.

Erik’s stepdaughter said Monday that their family remains united in their effort to bring the siblings home. While the judge’s delay was not “the outcome we had hoped for,” she said in a statement, “we remain optimistic that it represents a step forward in securing their freedom.”

The siblings have served 35 years for the shotgun murders of their parents, José and Kitty Menendez, at the family’s Beverly Hills home on Aug. 20, 1989.

Last month, outgoing Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón said he supported reducing their sentences to 50 years to life — a reduction that would make them eligible for parole immediately.

A judge is responsible for rejecting or supporting Gascón’s decision.

The recommendation came after a specialized unit within Gascón’s office that aims to implement reform-minded resentencing laws reviewed the brothers’ case.

While their crimes were brutal and premeditated, Gascón has acknowledged, the brothers have been model prisoners. They’ve paid their debt to society, he said, and no longer pose a public safety risk.

Gascón’s decision was applauded by many members of the Mendendez family, who have advocated for the men’s release and pointed to the horrific abuse the siblings said they suffered at the hands of their father.

The brothers’ supporters have described the killings as a desperate act of self-defense — an allegation that echoes the defense laid out by the brothers’ legal team during their two murder trials in the 1990s.

Prosecutors said the allegations of abuse were a false attempt at covering up what authorities described as the brothers’ true motive — ensuring access to their family’s multimillion-dollar estate.

The first trial ended with hung juries after they could not deliver a unanimous verdict. The brothers were convicted of first-degree murder during their second trial.

Gascón has acknowledged that his recommendation remains polarizing within his own office, with some prosecutors believing the abuse allegations and others arguing the brothers should remain behind bars for the rest of their lives.

In addition to a resentencing, the brothers have also sought their freedom through a request for clemency from California Gov. Gavin Newsom and a petition that seeks to challenge their convictions.

That petition, filed in May 2023, includes what Geragos has described as evidence that José Menendez was abusing Erik Menendez in the months before the siblings killed their parents.

Both efforts remain ongoing.