(The Center Square) – Murderers Erik and Lyle Menendez are now eligible for parole after a judge’s ruling in the latest twist of a saga that lasted more than three decades.
The next step in their fate is now in the hands of the California Parole Board, which is scheduled to hold separate hearings June 13 on the brothers. The board then will send its reports to Gov. Gavin Newsom to help him with a decision on whether to grant clemency.
The newest chapter for the Menendez brothers took its latest turn late Tuesday afternoon. That’s when Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic reduced the brothers’ sentence to 50 years to life, which makes them eligible for parole.
They have been serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole in a San Diego prison since their 1996 convictions in the 1989 murder of their parents Kitty and Jose Menendez at their Beverly Hills home. The brothers claimed the murders followed years of abuse by Jose and have contended the killings were in self-defense.
The brothers committed a “horrific crime,” Jesic said, but added he was impressed by their behavior in prison, according to various media covering the hearing in a Van Nuys courtroom near Los Angeles.
“Life without parole gives an inmate no hope, no reason to do anything good,” the judge said. “And I give them a lot of credit. It’s remarkable what they did when they had no hope of getting out.”
But the judge deferred a decision on whether to release the brothers to the California parole board.
The Menendez brothers’ attorney, Mark Geragos, praised the judge as he talked to reporters after the ruling. Jesic followed the code of justice despite “all the noise” over the case, Geragos said.
“We are one huge step closer to bringing the boys home,” he said.
“Today is a great day,” Geragos said. “This is a decision I think that will reverberate in the criminal justice system.”
Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman, who opposed the resentencing, called the judge’s decision “monumental.” He said it carried “significant implications” for the families involved. Hochman has called the brothers’ claims of self-defense lies and contended they didn’t take full responsibility for the murders. Hochman took office in December, succeeding D.A. George Gascón, who petitioned for resentencing hearings.
The brothers appeared virtually at Tuesday’s hearing and made statements. Erik Menendez addressed his family and said, “You did not deserve what I did to you, but you inspire me to do better.”
Family members such as Annmaria Baralt testified during the hearing in support of the brothers’ release. Baralt, who’s a cousin of the brothers, smiled as she talked to reporters after the judge’s ruling and said the “family was elated.”
Baralt, who was tearful during her testimony, showed relief as she told reporters she was glad she wore waterproof mascara because she had been crying all day. She conceded there’s still a difficult process ahead as the brothers face a parole hearing. But she said she would gladly walk through a hearing doors again to bring them home.
