California prosecutors to recommend resentencing for Menendez brothers

Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón on Thursday announced he would ask a court to consider resentencing convicted brothers Erik and Lyle Menendez in the 1989 murder of their parents.

The two men were sentenced to life in prison without parole in 1996, after a second jury found them guilty of the crimes. The first trial concluded with a hung jury. The brothers fatally shot their parents, Kitty and Jose Menendez, at their mansion in Beverly Hills. 

The brothers have claimed that the shooting was committed out of fear that their parents planned to kill them, to keep them quiet about how Jose Menendez allegedly sexual abused Erik Menendez for years, according to the Associated Press.

Some of the family members of the two brothers have asked the state to consider resentencing the men because they would not have received the severe sentence in the modern world, which is more considerate of the impact of sexual abuse.

"After careful review of all arguments made from people on both sides of the equation, I came to a place where I believe that under the law, resentencing is appropriate and I am going to recommend that to a court tomorrow," Gascón said.

"What that means in this particular case is that we're going to recommend to the court that the life without the possibility of parole be removed, and that they be sentenced for murder," he continued. "Because there were two murders involved, they face between 50 years to life. However because of their age, under the law, they were under 26 years of age at the time the crimes occurred, they would be eligible for parole immediately."

Gascón noted that although some people in his office supported the decision, there were some who believed the men should remain locked up for life. 

One family member, Milton Anderson, the 90-year-old brother of Kitty Menendez, has asked the court to keep the current sentence.

“They shot their mother, Kitty, reloading to ensure her death,” Anderson’s attorneys said in a statement Thursday. “The evidence remains overwhelmingly clear: the jury’s verdict was just, and the punishment fits the heinous crime.”

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.