Menendez Brothers: Should sex abuse evidence set them free? A judge decides

A justice volition determine Monday whether caller grounds warrants a re-examination of the convictions of Erik and Lyle Menendez (known colloquially arsenic the Menendez Brothers) successful the shotgun murders of their parents successful their Beverly Hills location much than 30 years ago.

The brothers were recovered blameworthy of murdering Jose and Kitty Menendez successful 1989 and sentenced to beingness successful situation without parole. While their defence lawyers argued astatine proceedings that they had been sexually abused by their father, prosecutors denied that and accused them of sidesplitting their parents for money. In the years that followed, they repeatedly appealed their convictions without success.

Now, astatine 53 and 56, Erik and Lyle Menendez are making a caller bid for freedom. Their lawyers filed a habeas corpus petition — a petition for a tribunal to analyse whether idiosyncratic is being lawfully detained — successful May 2023, asking a justice to see new grounds of their father’s intersexual abuse. “Newly discovered grounds straight supports the defence presented astatine trial,” the petition said.

The caller releases of the Netflix play Monsters: Lyle and Erik Menendez Story and the documentary The Menendez Brothers successful 2024 brought renewed nationalist attraction to their plight. Members of the nationalist volition beryllium fixed the accidental to triumph a spot successful the courtroom to drawback a glimpse of the brothers, who volition beryllium appearing virtually.

Prosecutors recommended resentencing for the brothers past month, saying they person worked connected redemption and rehabilitation and demonstrated bully behaviour wrong prison.

Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón held a quality league little than 2 weeks earlier Election Day, asking for caller sentences of 50 years to life. This could marque them instantly eligible for parole due to the fact that they were little than 26 years aged erstwhile they killed their parents.

Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic is scheduled to see the resentencing petition connected Dec. 11, but connected Monday, he’ll archetypal code the maltreatment grounds raised successful the habeas petition. Immediate state is 1 imaginable result; the justice besides mightiness measurement successful connected the merits of the evidence. And if the brothers don’t get alleviation successful court, they tin anticipation California’s politician volition assistance them clemency.

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The caller grounds includes a missive Erik Menendez wrote successful 1988 to his uncle Andy Cano, describing the intersexual maltreatment helium had endured from his father. The brothers asked their lawyers astir it aft it was mentioned successful a 2015 Barbara Walters tv special. The lawyers hadn’t known of the missive and realized it had not been introduced astatine their trials, making it efficaciously caller grounds that they accidental corroborates allegations that Erik was sexually abused by his father.

More caller grounds emerged erstwhile Roy Rossello, a erstwhile subordinate of the Latin popular radical Menudo, precocious came guardant saying he had been drugged and raped by Jose Menendez, the boys’ father, erstwhile helium was a teen successful the 1980s. Menudo was signed nether RCA Records, wherever Jose Menendez was main operating officer.

Rossello spoke astir his maltreatment successful the Peacock docuseries Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed, and provided a signed declaration to the brothers’ lawyers.

Had these 2 pieces of grounds been disposable during the brothers’ trial, prosecutors would not person been capable to reason that determination was nary corroboration of intersexual abuse, oregon that their begetter Jose Menendez was not the “kind of antheral that would” maltreatment children, the petition argues.

While clemency mightiness beryllium different pathway to state for the brothers, California Gov. Gavin Newsom said past week that helium won’t determine until incoming Los Angeles territory lawyer Nathan Hochman reviews the case. Hochman, a Republican-turned-Independent who unseated the progressive Gascón connected Dec. 2, has said helium wants to cautiously look astatine the grounds earlier making immoderate decisions.