A resentencing hearing for the Menendez brothers, both serving life in prison for the shotgun murders of their parents Jose and Kitty Menendez, has been set for two weeks before Christmas.
On Wednesday, Oct. 30, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic announced that the fate of Erik, 53, and Lyle, 56, will be determined by a judge during a court date scheduled for Dec. 11, according to the Associated Press and Los Angeles Times.
News of the hearing date comes less than a week after Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón announced he would recommend that the brothers — who claim they killed their parents because they feared for their lives after years of alleged sexual abuse by their father — each be resentenced to 50 years to life.
From Left: George Gascón; and Gavin Newsom.
Apu Gomes/Getty; Jason Armond/Getty
Based on their age at the time of the 1989 killings — Erik was 18 and Lyle 21 — the two would qualify as “youthful offenders” and be eligible for parole.
“We’re very sure, not only that the brothers have rehabilitated and that they will be safe to be reintegrated in our society, but that they have paid their dues,” Gascón said on Oct. 23, adding that in prison they had worked to “improve the lives of so many others.”
George Gascón (right) shakes hands with Diane Hernandez (niece of Kitty Menendez) on Oct. 24, 2024.
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If a judge rules in favor of Gascón’s recommendation, the case would then go to the California Parole Board for a hearing to decide if they will be granted parole, CBS affiliate KFMB reported. Per the station, it could take as long as six months to schedule that hearing before the board.
According to the AP, California Gov. Gavin Newsom would then have another 150 days to examine the parole board’s decision before making the final ruling.
Newsom previously rejected four parole recommendations for Manson follower Leslie Van Houten, who took part in the killings of Leno and Rosemary LaBianca in their L.A. home in 1969, before agreeing to not contest an appellate court ruling, according to CBS News.
Another potential pathway to freedom for the siblings is a habeas petition filed by their attorneys based on new evidence in the double murder case, including a letter purportedly sent by Erik to a cousin months before the 1989 killings that referred to Jose’s ongoing sexual assaults as well as an affidavit by a former member of the boy band Menudo, Roy Rosselló, alleging that he was raped by Jose in the 1980s.
From Left: Erik and Lyle Menendez on trial in 1994.
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Additionally, on Oct. 28, the defense team for Erik and Lyle submitted a request for clemency to Newsom for the Menendez brothers. In a press release sent to PEOPLE on Oct. 30, Gascón said he “strongly” supports their bid for clemency.
“They have respectively served 34 years and have continued their educations and worked to create new programs to support the rehabilitation of fellow inmates,” he said, per the release, calling for “the immediate release of the Menendez brothers.”
In a previous interview with PEOPLE, Anamaria Baralt, a cousin of Lyle and Erik, described life without the brothers at home as “very hard.” She said, “There’s just a hole in your heart that never quite gets filled.”
Baralt added, “Every holiday, there’s a bitter sweetness to it. Even though we have the family together, the families that are outside of prison, we never forget that Lyle and Erik aren’t with us. We’re all just really looking forward to that day of being together again.”
If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.
