Trial of the Menendez brothers in Los Angeles – From left to right : Erik Menendez with his attorney : Leslie Abramson and his brother Lyle Menendez. Los Angeles, 9th March 1994. (Photo by Ted Soqui/Sygma via Getty Images)
Prosecutors will recommend Erik and Lyle Menendez be re-sentenced for the 1989 killings of their parents in the family’s Beverly Hills home, providing the brothers with a chance at freedom after 34 years behind bars.
An official with knowledge of the decision who was not authorised to speak on the record ahead of a planned press conference confirmed that Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón would recommend re-sentencing for the brothers.
They were sentenced in 1996 to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Prosecutors must now seek court approval for their re-sentencing recommendation.
Lyle Menendez, then 21, and Erik Menendez, then 18, admitted they fatally shot their entertainment executive father, Jose Menendez, and their mother, Kitty Menendez. The brothers said they feared their parents were about to kill them to stop people from finding out that Jose Menendez had sexually abused Erik Menendez for years.
