Prosecutors want the Menendez brothers to be re-sentenced, which could free them from prison for murdering their parents

Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón said Thursday he will seek resentencing of Lyle and Erik Menendez in the murders of their parents, paving the way for their eventual release from prison after decades.

He said he would file the paperwork for his recommendation on Friday and then the brothers' case would be presented to a judge.

Joseph “Lyle” Menendez and Erik Menendez fatally shot their parents, entertainment company executive Jose Menendez and Kitty Menendez, in their Beverly Hills home in 1989. The brothers were 21 and 18 years old at the time.

The brothers' defense lawyers argued that they had been sexually abused by their father and, after two trials, they were sentenced to life in prison without parole for murder.

The prosecutor's announcement is coming three weeks after Gascón said his office was reviewing the case and would consider whether they should be resentenced.

Gascón, who is seeking re-election next month, said at the time that “we have a moral and ethical obligation to review what has been presented to us.”

Among the evidence presented to Gascón's office was a photocopy of a letter from one of the brothers to another family member that discussed sexual abuse, Gascón said.

Defense attorneys also presented evidence that one of the members of the Menudo boy band claimed he was sexually abused by Jose Menendez, Gascón said.

Roy Rosselló, a member of the pop group from 1983 to 1986, said in the 2023 Peacock series “Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed” that he was raped by Jose Menendez, who was an executive at RCA at the time.

Lyle and Erik Menendez alleged sexual abuse by their father in their first trial. That trial ended in a mistrial after the jury deadlocked.

At the second trial against the brothers, the allegations of abuse in court were limited. The brothers were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for first-degree murder in 1996.

Lyle Menendez is now 56 and Erik Menendez is now 53.

They filed petitions on both habeas grounds and resentencing grounds. A habeas petition argues that if certain evidence had been presented in court, the outcome might have been different.

California law also allows a prosecutor to assess whether a person has been rehabilitated and then ask a court to decide whether the person should be resentenced, Gascón said.

The public prosecutor had accused the brothers of killing their parents in order to inherit a fortune.

Milton Andersen, Kitty Menendez's brother, opposes the brothers' early release, his lawyer said in a letter to Gascón.

“Mr. “Andersen opposes any resentencing and rejects any concession of habeas claims,” ​​wrote his attorney Kathy Cady.

“Erik and Lyle Menendez’s motive was pure greed,” Cady wrote in the Oct. 14 letter.

But about 20 people, including members of the Menendez family, gathered last week outside the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in downtown Los Angeles and demonstrated in support of the brothers' release from prison.

Relatives petitioned for their release, arguing that they had received justice because they had spent more than 35 years behind bars.

The brothers were victims of society and a justice system that decades ago had neither understanding nor the ability to deal with cases of sexual abuse of boys and young men, family members said.

“Their continued detention serves no supporting purpose. It is time to acknowledge the injustice they have suffered and give them the second chance they deserve,” said Anamaria Baralt, niece of Jose Menendez. “If Lyle and Eric's case were tried today, and we now know about abuse and post-traumatic stress disorder, there is no doubt in my mind that their sentencing would have been very different.”

Joan Andersen VanderMolen, Kitty Menendez's sister, said she had struggled to come to terms with the murders, but as more information emerged about her father's alleged abuse of the brothers, she described her actions as “desperate.” Reaction” of two boys trying to survive his cruelty.

“They were just children. Children who could have been protected were instead abused in the most horrific ways,” she said. “Lyle and Eric have already paid a heavy price. … They've grown, they've changed, and they've become better men despite everything they've been through. It’s time to give them the opportunity to live the rest of their lives free from the shadow of their past.”