Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – Erik and Lyle Menendez will appear in a Los Angeles court on Thursday in a bid to persuade a judge to reduce their life sentences for the shotgun murders of their own parents. The brothers — who are among America’s most infamous murderers — are hoping the current life-without-parole term will be cut to one that could allow them to walk free, more than 35 years after the brutal double killings.
During blockbuster trials in the 1990s, prosecutors said the men killed Jose and Kitty Menendez in their luxury Beverly Hills home to get their hands on a $14 million fortune. They initially blamed the deaths on a Mafia hit, the first of five disparate explanations they offered. But at trial, they claimed they had acted in self-defense, striking first before their abusive and controlling father could kill them, after years of emotional and sexual abuse.
A lengthy campaign, backed by their family and with growing support from the public, whose appetite for the case was whetted by a hit Netflix series, has sought to have them freed. Supporters say Erik Menendez, 54, and Lyle Menendez, 57, have been model prisoners, who are reformed, and deserving of a second chance. Their hand was strengthened by the former chief prosecutor for Los Angeles, who asked the court to resentence the men.
But when the more hardline Nathan Hochman became district attorney last year, he reversed course. He says the men have not atoned for their crimes and continue to lie about the murders, in which they repeatedly shot their parents, including in the knees. He also points to the premeditated nature of the slayings — the men had tried to set up alibis in advance — and their efforts to get people to cover for them after the fact. And he claims that their unwillingness to come clean about the true circumstances of the crime makes them ineligible for parole.
However, last week Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic rejected his office’s effort to withdraw its resentencing motion. The hearing, which begins on Thursday morning in Los Angeles, is expected to last up to two days. The brothers’ original trials were huge events, and the case saw a surge of renewed interest last year with the release of the Netflix hit “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.”
© 2024 AFP
