LOS ANGELES (AP) — The extended family Eric and Lyle Menendez He will call for the brothers to be released from prison during a news conference scheduled for Wednesday in downtown Los Angeles as prosecutors review new evidence to determine whether they should serve a life sentence for killing their parents.
The news conference was described as a “strong show of unity” by more than a dozen family members — including the brothers’ aunt — who are traveling cross-country to Los Angeles. The news conference will be held less than two weeks after Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón . He announced that his office is looking into the brothers’ case again.
Eric Menendez, now 53, and his 56-year-old brother, Lyle Menendezare currently incarcerated in state prison without the possibility of parole after being convicted of murdering their parents in their Beverly Hills mansion more than 35 years ago.
Lyle Menendez, then 21, and Eric Menendez, then 18, admitted they shot their entertainment executive father, Jose Menendez, and their mother, Kitty Menendez, in 1989, but said they feared their parents They were about to kill them to kill them. Preventing disclosure of Eric’s father’s long-term sexual abuse.
The extended family’s attorney, Brian Friedman, previously said they strongly supported the brothers’ release. Comedian Rosie O’Donnell She also plans to join the family on Wednesday.
“She would like nothing more than to set them free,” Friedman said earlier this month of Joan Vandermeulen, Kitty Menendez’s sister and the brothers’ aunt.
Earlier this month, Gascón said there was no doubt the brothers committed the 1989 murders, but his office would review the new evidence and make a decision on whether a re-sentencing is warranted in the notorious case that has captured national attention.
The brothers’ lawyers said the family believed from the beginning that they should have been charged with manslaughter, not murder. Attorney Mark Geragos previously said manslaughter was not an option for the jury during the second trial that ultimately led to the brothers’ murder conviction.
The case has gained new momentum in recent weeks after Netflix began streaming the true crime drama. Monsters: The Story of Lyle and Eric Menendez. “
The new evidence includes a letter written by Eric Menendez that his lawyers say supports allegations that he was sexually abused by his father. A hearing was scheduled for November 29.
Prosecutors asserted at the time that there was no evidence of any harassment. They said the children were after their parents’ multi-million dollar estate.
but Brothers They said they killed their parents in self-defense after enduring a lifetime of physical, emotional and sexual abuse. Their lawyers say that because society’s views on sexual assault have changed, the brothers may not have been convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life without parole today.
Jurors in 1996 rejected the death penalty in favor of life in prison without parole.
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