TRUE CRIMEErik and Lyle Menendez's Lawyer Believes Brothers Will Be Home 'Before Thanksgiving' After D.A.'s Resentencing Recommendation
Erik and Lyle Menendez might finally find freedom more than 35 years after murdering their allegedly abusive parents.
Erik and Lyle Menendez might be home for the holidays.
In a shocking update for the infamous brothers, Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón recommended on Thursday, October 24, that a judge resentence the siblings, suggesting the convicted murderers be eligible for parole immediately.
Erik and Lyle Menendez were 18 and 21 years old, respectively at the time they killed their parents.
"I believe [that] before Thanksgiving, they will be home. I still believe that," the Menendez brothers' lawyer Mark Geragos declared during a press conference on Thursday.
"We thank the D.A. for what he did today," the renowned attorney told a group of reporters while standing beside some of Erik and Lyle's family members. "Today is a monumental victory on that path."
The Menendez brothers were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in 1996.
"If there is a hearing. I say if, because there doesn’t necessarily have to be one, all of these family members who are behind me will be heard," Geragos explained. "All of these family members will ask one thing, which is, ‘Bring them home.’ Enough is enough."
The Menendez brothers were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in 1996 after being found guilty of murdering their parents, Jose and Kitty, in 1989.
Erik and Lyle Menendez claimed their father, Jose, started sexually abusing them at age 6.
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Erik and Lyle fatally shot their mom and dad with shotguns while the late couple was sitting on the couch watching TV inside of their Beverly Hills mansion one evening more than 35 years ago.
The notorious siblings argued during their highly-publicized trial that they killed their parents in an effort to end their father Jose's never-ending patterns of alleged sexual abuse.
Erik and Lyle, who were 18 and 21, respectively at the time of the murders, said their dad started molesting them at the age of six and had threatened to kill them if they spoke out or sought help to expose his incestual and disturbing behaviors.
The Menendez brothers' case became a crazed phenomenon across the nation, as the country was left divided by Erik and Lyle's claims — with some people not believing they were molested by their dad, arguing they killed their parents out of greed, and others standing by the alleged victims in full support and trust of their claims.
The L.A. County D.A. recommended the brothers be eligible for parole immediately.
Following Gascón’s recommendation on Thursday, the judge on the case will now report his suggestion to the Board of Parole Hearings.
The D.A. requested the Menendez brothers' sentence be reduced from life without parole to 50 years to life. Since Erik and Lyle were both under the age of 26 at the time of the crimes, this would allow them to be eligible for parole immediately.
"We appreciate what they did while they were in prison. While I disapprove of the way they handled their abuse, we hope that they not only have learned — which appears that they have — but that if they get reintegrated into our community, that they continue to do public good," Gascón told the crowd at Thursday's press conference.
The district attorney did note, however, that "there is no excuse for murder," which is why he doesn't "believe that manslaughter would have been the appropriate charge [to request in the resentencing filing] given the premeditation that was involved."
