After a 50-year life for the Los Angeles County judge against Erik and Lyle Menendez, Gov. Gavin Newsom withdrew his request for a leniency investigation, and a hearing on the parole board turned into a chance for the brothers at a hearing in June.
The move simplifies the potential freedom of a brother who was sentenced to 35 years in prison for killing his parents with a shotgun in 1989.
“We thank Jesus Christ for his courage and loyalty to the law. We hope the governor will write the last chapter in the last chapter of the brothers' release,” said their lawyer Mark Geragos.
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic on Tuesday revised the brothers’ original sentence without parole to 50 years, and under the state’s young offender law, the brothers immediately qualify for parole because the shooting occurred before the age of 26.
The parole board told legal representatives Wednesday that the governor would no longer conduct leniency investigations because of a decision to change the brothers' verdict.
“As the ruling makes them immediately eligible for parole as young offenders, the intention of the Board is to convert the June 13, 2025 Broadway Hearing to the initial parole hearing.”
At the hearing, the panel of commissioners could consider the two brothers who were suitable for parole, but that was not the end of the process. A 90-day review period will follow, and Newsom can still block their release – although it is unclear whether this will happen if the claim for Wednesday's withdrawal accelerates their path to freedom.
During the parole hearing, the brothers will have to be held responsible for their crimes and argue with the Commissioner that they are unlikely to re-offend. They made comments to the Jesus on Tuesday through a camera feed from the prison.
“My behavior is criminal, selfish, cruel and timid,” said Erik Menendez. “I have no excuses, no reason.
Lyle also said he fell down his mother and father due to a shotgun explosion and fought for his release to nearly twenty relatives.
“I'm sorry for each of you,” Lyle told the court Tuesday. “I lied to you and forced you to be the focus of public humiliation you never asked for.”
At the hearing Tuesday. Atti. Nathan Hochman argued that the brothers failed to show proper “insight” about the crime and did not atone for the lies they told them about the nature of the murder in the past 30 years, but Jesus saw these arguments as irrelevant. Jesus said prosecutors needed to prove that the brothers posed unreasonable risks to the public, and he said they did not do so.
