There’s a chance for resentencing Lyle and Erik Menendez after they were found guilty of murder in the first degree as the Netflix docuseries Monsters 2: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story revealed. For the deaths of their parents Jose and Kitty Menendez, the brothers were sentenced to life in prison without parole.
Lyle and Erik were initially in separate prisons after fears of them plotting an escape came to light. However, they were later moved to the same jailhouse in 2018: The Richard J Donovan Prison Facility where they continue to serve their sentence.
Circling back, per CNN, Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascon disclosed that both legal representatives of the Menendez brothers have petitioned for a resentencing in light of new evidence being reviewed. The hearing for the same is slated for November 29, 2024, as confirmed by the DA.
Disclaimer: Parts of this article contain mentions of sexual & physical abuse in the Erik & Lyle Menendez brothers' case. Reader discretion is advised.
What new evidence and claims were brought up based on Monsters 2: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story?
Monsters 2: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story narrated the real-life inspired story of how the Menendez brothers killed their parents - as an act of defending themselves. The docuseries highlighted the Menendez brothers’ previous claims of Jose and Kitty sexually abusing them.
Based on the confessions of the Menendez brothers, their father had reportedly been molesting them when they were minors. Lyle claimed his abuse began at 8 years old whereas Erik was 6 years old when Jose allegedly began performing obscene and inappropriate acts on both of them.
The brothers claimed the alleged torture continued for years well into their teenage years and early adulthood. Scared for their lives and unable to tolerate the alleged abuse any longer, they took the very measure landing them behind bars; they’ve never denied killing their parents to date since their arrests.
The new evidence is based on the same claims from Monsters 2: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story. DA Gascon revealed their lawyers filed a petition with the new evidence containing a letter penned by Erik which describes the allegations of sexual abuse against his late father.
While the “validity” of the letter remains under deliberation, Gascon assures they would “evaluate all of it.” A legal representative of the Menendez brothers, Cliff Gardner expressed their contentment with DA Gascon’s consideration in an email to the Associated Press saying,
“Given today’s very different understanding of how s*xual and physical abuse impacts children - both boys and girls - and the remarkable new evidence, we think resentencing is the appropriate result.”
The hearing for review and testing the validity of it as “new evidence,” is slated for November 29, 2024, as confirmed by the DA.
Could Erik and Lyle Menendez be released from prison?
The possibility of Erik and Lyle Menendez’s release from prison is plausible yet speculative. Especially, since the new evidence is only just being reviewed and would take a considerable amount of time for a retrial.
It will be an intense legal altercation, but one that might get them out of prison given they’ve spent more than three decades behind bars. In response to the newfound evidence, their lawyer Gardner reinstated the same in an email to The Associated Press saying,
“The brothers have served more than 30 years in prison. That is enough.”
Similarly, when questioned about the result of a potential resentencing trial of the Menendez brothers, DA Gascon revealed he and his office remain unsure about an outcome and were still in the process of “reviewing information.”
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Also read, "Is Monsters: The Erik and Lyle Menendez Story a true story? The gruesome truth behind the show, explored."
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