The Los Angeles County District Attorney is expected to file a plea on Thursday against Lyle and Eric Menendez, who killed their parents in 1989, according to a person familiar with the prosecutor’s decision. That move could free the brothers from prison.
District Attorney George Gascon plans a news conference Thursday afternoon to announce his decision.
During their televised trial, the brothers said they were sexually abused by their father and feared for their lives. At the time, their claims were met with widespread skepticism, but now Mr.
The move by the office that originally prosecuted the case, seeking a denial of the ruling, could pave the way for the brothers, who are currently serving life sentences without parole in a prison near San Diego, to walk free.
Although the district attorney’s recommendation carries weight, a judge will ultimately decide the brothers’ futures.
The case gained renewed attention after Netflix released a documentary this year, followed by a documentary in which the brothers discussed the case at length in prison interviews.
Mr. from the Democratic Party. The rare call for revenge comes at an urgent political moment, with Gascón fighting to win re-election against a conservative opponent running as an independent in the left-leaning province.
The murders gained national attention in 1989 for their sordid nature and the wealthy context in which they took place. The brothers’ initial trial was first televised to a national audience in the early 1990s, a precursor to the 1995 murder trial of OJ Simpson in Los Angeles County.
The Menendez brothers had separate juries in their first trial, and weeks after both juries failed to reach a unanimous verdict, a judge declared a mistrial. When the brothers were tried again – this time without TV cameras – they were both convicted in 1996 and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Eric Menendez was 18 at the time of the murders, and his brother Lyle was 21.
At trial, prosecutors portrayed the brothers as remorseless killers who gunned down their parents to get the family’s fortune, which at the time was worth $14 million (about $32 million in 2024 dollars). Evidence to support that theory was presented when the brothers bought a Porsche car, a Rolex watch and a restaurant in Princeton, NJ, in the months following the murders and arrests.
The brothers’ defense team argued that they were sexually abused by their father, Jose Menendez, and that their mother, Kitty Menendez, knew about it. Prosecutors said the brothers killed their parents out of fear for their lives. Prosecutors said the brothers had confronted their parents about the abuse and were worried the parents would kill them to prevent the family’s secrets from becoming public.
Mr. Gascón announced earlier this month that his office was reviewing the case. “It’s important to recognize that both men and women can be victims of sexual abuse,” she said.
The brothers’ attorney, Mark Geragos, said: “If they were the Menendez sisters, they would not be in custody. We have evolved. It’s time.”
During the first trial, which ended in a mistrial in 1994, evidence was admitted to support the brothers’ contention that they had been abused. But in a second trial, the judge excluded much of that evidence — and was dismissed by some legal experts at the time as the brothers’ “excuse of abuse” — and the brothers were found guilty.
“There’s no doubt in my mind that if Lyle and Eric’s case were tried today, if we understood now about the abuse and the PTSD, their sentence would have been very different,” Anamaria Baralt, a cousin of the brothers, said recently. A press conference held by the family.
New evidence has come to light in recent years. A letter Eric Menendez wrote months before the murders, in which he described sexual abuse to a relative, was presented by journalist Robert Rand. Additionally, a 2023 documentary series on the Peacock streaming service reported allegations that Jose, a wealthy music executive, abused a member of the boy band Menudo.
The brothers, their legal team and their family believe that if the evidence and testimony about the abuse had been admitted in the second trial, it would have been seen as a mitigating factor and the brothers were not guilty of the first murder. -degree murder.
The Menendez brothers have attracted enormous support on social media, where young people who were not born at the time of the murders have demanded their release.
Many of the brothers’ relatives have rallied to their side, but the family is not fully united. Kitty’s brother, Milton Anderson, believes his nephews should be in prison. In a recent report, the 90-year-old Mr. Anderson said he has retained an attorney to contest the brothers’ release.
“Mr. Anderson really felt his voice was not being heard,” said Mr. said Kathy Cady, an attorney for Anderson. “Basically what he wants is to make sure he’s up to date and he doesn’t have to learn things from the media.”
The district attorney’s rebuttal includes several letters commending the brothers in prison for their work as welfare aides to help sick inmates; to conduct Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and meditation groups for inmates; and to complete college courses. The packet contained two letters from corrections officers, expressing resentment and support for the release of the brothers.
Victor H. Cortes, an officer at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility where the brothers are incarcerated, wrote a letter in support of Lyle Menendez.
“Even when facing a life sentence without parole, it is rare to meet a person who is so dedicated to personal growth, the betterment of fellow inmates and the overall stability of the prison environment,” said Mr. Cortes wrote.
