Where does their outraged effort stand?

On By Littum

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

But those efforts will move forward Monday when the siblings appear at a status conference to determine whether a Dec. 11 hearing should remain on the schedule, a lawyer for the brothers told NBC News.

Defense Attorney Mark Geragos told NBC Los Angeles that Erik and Lyle will appear remotely from the San Diego prison where they are incarcerated.

The brothers are serving 35 years for the shotgun murders of their parents, José and Kitty Menendez, at the family home in Beverly Hills on August 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.

Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón on November 3, 2023.
Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón.Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

The recommendation came after a specialized unit within Gascón’s office, which aims to implement reform-oriented laws, reviewed the brothers’ case.

While their crimes were brutal and premeditated, Gascón has acknowledged that the brothers have been model prisoners. They have 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, pointing 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 – a claim that echoes the defense of the brothers’ legal team during their two murder trials in the 1990s.

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

The first trial ended in hung juries after they could not reach a unanimous verdict. The brothers were convicted of first-degree murder at 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.

Nathan Hochman.
Nathan Hochman on October 10 in Los Angeles.Michael Blackshire/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images file

Incoming District Attorney Nathan Hochman, who will take office Dec. 2, has said he needs to review the facts, the law and the evidence in the case before making a decision. Several sources have said there was a “good chance” he would try to delay the December 11 hearing.

The brothers have also sought their freedom through a request for clemency from California Governor Gavin Newsom and a petition seeking to challenge their convictions.

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

Both efforts continue.

Tim Stelloh

Chelsea Damberg the contribution.