The Menendez Brothers May Be Resentenced. Here’s What to Know.
Posted on: May 13, 2025 14:28 IST | Posted by: Nytimes
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Proceedings are underway this week to determine whether Lyle and Erik Menendez could eventually be set free after spending decades in prison for killing their parents.
Reporting from Los Angeles
After several hearings, postponements and delays, Lyle and Erik Menendez could finally be resentenced this week and move a step closer to freedom.
The brothers, who killed their parents more than 35 years ago, are expected to appear virtually in a Los Angeles court on Tuesday and Wednesday, where their lawyers will argue that they should receive a lighter sentence for their crimes.
Surrounded by members of the brothers’ family who have flown in from across the country, the lawyers are expected to call witnesses to testify about how the brothers have lived their lives in prison, in an attempt to build a case that they have been rehabilitated and no longer pose a risk to public safety. The brothers themselves may make statements.
Eventually, the judge, Michael V. Jesic of Los Angeles Superior Court, will need to decide whether to impose a new sentence. If he reduces the brothers’ sentence to life with the possibility of parole, that would make them eligible to go before a parole board. (A parole hearing has already been scheduled for next month.) The judge could also reduce the murder conviction to manslaughter and allow the brothers to be released immediately. Or he could reject a new sentence altogether.
The new Los Angeles County district attorney, Nathan J. Hochman, who was elected on promises to be more tough on crime, is expected to argue against a lighter sentence. Judge Jesic has already rejected multiple requests by Mr. Hochman to withdraw a resentencing petition put forward by his Mr. Hochman’s predecessor.
The resentencing effort is just one of the several legal pathways that could lead to the brothers’ freedom. Gov. Gavin Newsom of California is also reviewing a clemency petition.
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