Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón is supporting clemency for Lyle and Erik Menendez, who are serving life sentences for killing their parents in 1989. Gascón believes that the brothers, who have served 34 years in prison, have shown remorse and worked on rehabilitation programs. The brothers have also submitted requests for clemency to Governor Gavin Newsom. If granted, clemency would allow them to be released immediately.
The Menendez brothers claimed that they killed their parents because of sexual abuse by their father. After two trials, they were convicted of murder and sentenced to life without parole. Gascón has filed a motion asking for the brothers to be resentenced to 50 years to life, which could make them eligible for parole immediately due to their ages when the crimes were committed.
Attorneys for the brothers argue that they have worked on rehabilitating themselves, earned degrees, and created programs to help other inmates. They also detailed the sexual abuse they suffered at the hands of their father. The Menendez brothers shot their parents with shotguns in their Beverly Hills home in 1989. Despite prosecutors’ claims of greed being the motive, the defense argued that the brothers were driven to the killings by years of abuse.
A hearing on the resentencing is scheduled for December 11, where a judge will decide if the brothers should be resentenced. The clemency review process does not have a set timeline, and the governor’s office has not commented on the potential granting of clemency.
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