Erik and Lyle Menendez’s notorious case will probably be again in entrance of a decide on Monday for a listening to relating to the brothers’ habeas corpus petition, which was filed final yr for a evaluation of recent proof not offered at trial.
One piece of recent proof is allegations from a former member of the boy band Menudo, who revealed final yr that he was raped by the brothers’ father, Jose Menendez.
The second piece of proof is a letter Erik Menendez wrote to his cousin eight months earlier than the murders detailing his alleged abuse from his father. The cousin testified concerning the alleged abuse at trial, however the letter — which might have corroborated the cousin’s testimony — wasn’t discovered till a number of years in the past, in accordance with the brothers’ legal professional.
The Monday afternoon courtroom look is scheduled as a standing listening to. Lyle and Erik Menendez are anticipated to attend remotely.
No selections are anticipated to be made Monday, however the brothers might converse and the listening to might form how their a number of tried avenues to launch transfer ahead.
The case started in 1989, when Lyle Menendez, then 21, and Erik Menendez, then 18, fatally shot their dad and mom, Jose and Kitty Menendez, within the household’s Beverly Hills residence. The protection claimed the brothers acted in self-defense after enduring years of sexual abuse by their father, however prosecutors alleged they killed for cash.
The primary trial, which had separate juries for every brother, led to mistrials. In 1996, after the second trial — throughout which the decide barred a lot of the intercourse abuse proof — the brothers have been convicted and each sentenced to 2 consecutive phrases of life with out parole.
Because the habeas corpus petition strikes by means of the courts, the brothers have two different potential paths to freedom.
One path is thru resentencing. Los Angeles County District Lawyer George Gascón introduced final month he was recommending the brothers’ sentence of life with out the potential for parole be eliminated, and they need to as an alternative be sentenced for homicide, which might be a sentence of fifty years to life. As a result of each brothers have been below 26 on the time of the crimes, they might be eligible for parole instantly with the brand new sentence.
The DA’s workplace mentioned its resentencing suggestions bear in mind many components, together with rehabilitation in jail, and abuse or trauma that contributed to the crime. Gascón praised the work Lyle and Erik Menendez did behind bars to rehabilitate themselves and assist different inmates.
RELATED: Lawyer for Menendez brothers reacts to Newsom’s feedback on clemency, incoming DA Hochman
Shortly after Gascón’s announcement, he misplaced his race for reelection to Nathan Hochman. The incoming DA, who is about to take workplace on Dec. 2, mentioned he plans to learn by means of the proof — together with confidential jail recordsdata and interviews with household, legal professionals and regulation enforcement — earlier than displaying his help for resentencing.
The subsequent listening to within the resentencing case is Dec. 11.
The opposite attainable path to freedom is the brothers’ request for clemency, which they’ve submitted to California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Final week, Newsom mentioned he’ll defer to Hochman’s “evaluation and evaluation of the Menendez case prior to creating any clemency selections.”
ABC Information’ Alex Stone contributed to this report.
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