(Bloomberg) -- Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascon said that prosecutors will recommend the resentencing of Erik and Lyle Menendez, potentially granting them a chance at freedom after spending three decades in prison for killing their parents.
Gascon said at a press conference that he would ask the court on Friday to remove the brothers’ life-without-parole sentences, citing their ages at the time of the crime — 18 and 21 — which could make them immediately eligible for parole.
The brothers were convicted of first-degree murder for fatally shooting their parents, music industry executive Jose Menendez and his wife Kitty, in their Beverly Hills home in 1989. During two trials, which captivated the nation, they claimed they acted in self-defense after years of sexual abuse by their father. They alleged their mother knowingly allowed it. In 1996, after the second trial, they were sentenced to life without parole.
Their case has regained attention following the release of two Netflix productions this year: a dramatization and a documentary. Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story was the No. 1 most streamed show the week of its release, according to Nielsen data. The nine-part series garnered 1.7 billion minutes of viewing time on Netflix for the seven days ending on Sept. 22.
The renewed interest has sparked a wave of support on social media. Kim Kardashian recently wrote an essay calling for the brothers to be given a “second chance.”
“To the brothers’ family, friends and the millions who have been vocal supporters — your voices were heard,” Kardashian posted in her Instagram stories on Thursday. “The media’s focus, especially on the heels of Ryan Murphy’s TV show, helped expose the abuse and injustices in their case.”
Although the Menendez case was originally set for a hearing in November, Gascon said he moved the date up after his office was overwhelmed with requests for information following the release of the docuseries.
Gascon, who has weathered multiple recall efforts since taking office in December 2020 after backing a series of progressive criminal justice measures, is under intense scrutiny as the Nov. 5 election approaches.
A recent Los Angeles Times/UC Berkeley poll shows Gascon trailing former federal prosecutor Nathan Hochman by 30 percentage points. Hochman has accused Gascon of using the high-profile Menendez case to deflect attention from his record as district attorney.
--With assistance from Christopher Palmeri and John Gittelsohn.
(Updates with comment from Kardashian in sixth paragraph.)
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