Family members are calling for her release

Family and friends of Lyle and Erik Menendez publicly called for the notorious killers' release after they spent more than three decades in prison for fatally shooting their wealthy parents in their Beverly Hills home.

The Menendez brothers' case became one of the most high-profile criminal trials in U.S. history when the brothers were arrested in connection with the 1989 deaths of Kitty and Jose Menendez.

Family, friends and an attorney for the brothers gathered outside a Los Angeles courthouse on Wednesday to demand their release. They argued the boys had suffered horrific sexual abuse at the hands of their father and were not a threat to society.

The incident comes as the Los Angeles district attorney reviews new evidence in the case about the alleged abuse and whether it might warrant a retrial or a lighter sentence.

“If it were the Menendez sisters, they wouldn’t be in custody,” Anna Maria Baralt, Jose Menendez’s niece, said at the packed news conference. “We have evolved.”

Ms. Baralt was referring to how male victims of sexual assault were treated and accommodated by society and the justice system three decades ago, something prosecutors have also acknowledged.

The brothers stood trial in 1993 and admitted shooting their parents with two shotguns. However, they argued that they did so in self-defense after years of emotional, physical and sexual abuse by their father.

Prosecutors argued the brothers systematically planned the murder of their parents – while the couple watched television – so they could inherit their multimillion-dollar fortune.

The case was retried after the jury deadlocked.

In the second trial in 1995, much evidence of the alleged sexual abuse was not allowed to be presented. A jury found both brothers guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced them to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Public interest in the murders has increased again since a Netflix series about the events was released in September. And new possible evidence – an alleged letter from Erik to another family member detailing sexual abuse by his father.

Kitty Menendez's sister, Joan Anderson VanderMolen, was carried to the podium by other family members to face the crowd of media and a handful of supporters on Wednesday afternoon. At 92, she said her nephews' actions were “tragic.”

“They were just children” who were “brutally treated in the most horrific ways.”

When they stood trial, she argued, “the whole world was not prepared to believe that the boys could be raped or that young men could be victims of sexual violence.”

But today “we know better” and “a jury today would never make such a harsh verdict.”

Earlier this month, Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón held a press conference in which he announced that his office would be reviewing the case and considering the possibility of one of two scenarios: a re-sentencing of the brothers or a new proceedings against them. His office's findings and decision are scheduled to be released at a hearing in late November

Mr. Gascón's office released a statement on Wednesday evening saying that while prosecutors could not speak publicly about the case, “please know that our office is committed to a thorough and fair trial and that everyone is committed to this “Explore available options to ensure that justice is served.”

The family is asking Mr. Gascón to recommend resentencing – an option that could result in them being released if a judge approves the order.