LA prosecutors will examine fresh proof in the 1996 homicide conviction of the Menendez brothers.
Los Angeles (AP): Los Angeles authorities are reconsidering the Menendez brothers' life sentences for killing their parents in their Beverly Hills mansion over three decades ago, as per the city's district attorney's announcement yesterday.
At a press conference, Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón shared that the lawyers for Erik Menendez, 53, and his brother Lyle, 56, have requested a court to reverse their convictions.
Gascón emphasized that there's no dispute over their involvement in the murders, but his office will examine the new evidence and determine if a retrial is warranted. A hearing is scheduled for November 29th.
"We haven't reached a conclusion yet. We're analyzing the data," Gascón said.
The new evidence, disclosed in a petition, allegedly includes a letter penned by Erik Menendez, suggesting he was sexually abused by his father. Gascón believes that the subject of sexual assault would be handled differently today.
Gascón acknowledged that he wasn't aware of the trial's "credibility" of the presented evidence.
"We'll examine every piece of it," said Gascón, who is running for reelection and mentioned that approaching 350 individuals have been resentenced during his tenure, and less than 1% have reoffended.
Brothers' attorney Cliff Gardner thanked the district attorney for the decision, stating that the new understanding of how sexual and physical abuse impacts children, paired with newly-discovered evidence, calls for a retrial.
"Given the profound evolution in our comprehension of how abuse affects both boys and girls – and the substantial new evidence – we believe that resentencing is the appropriate choice," Gardner wrote to The Associated Press. "The brothers have spent more than three decades in prison. It's time."
The case has regained public interest in recent weeks following the launch of Netflix's true-crime series, "Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story."
In a statement released by his wife, Erik Menendez criticized the show as an "inaccurate portrayal" that transported them back to a time when prosecutors "constructed a narrative founded on a belief that males are not sexually abused and that males suffer from rape trauma differently from women."
The brothers were sentenced to life imprisonment in 1989 for shooting their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez.
Lyle, then 21, and Erik, 18, admitted to fatally shooting their father, an entertainment executive, and mother with a shotgun, but claimed they were fearful of their parents intending to eliminate them to conceal their father's long-term sexual misconduct towards Erik.
Prosecutors contended there was no evidence of any misconduct. Their argument revolved around the brothers seeking their parents' multimillion-dollar estate.
Jurors opted for a life sentence without the possibility of parole over the death penalty.
The district attorney's office will review the new evidence in the Menendez brothers' case, considering if a retrial is necessary for the two, as they are currently incarcerated in the United States. Brokers for Erik and Lyle Menendez are advocating for a retrial, believing that their understanding of the impact of sexual and physical abuse on children, coupled with new evidence, justifies a reconsideration of their sentences.
