Erik and Lyle Menendez were resentenced on Tuesday to 50 years to life in prison, which makes them eligible for parole — the latest step in a years-long battle for the brothers trying to get released after 35 years behind bars.
The parole process will be long and could take years.
“We are very hopeful,” Menendez cousin Anamaria Baralt told reporters after court.
She commended her cousins’ rehabilitation, saying, “Ultimately, we are here today with this result because of Erik and Lyle. Because they chose to live their lives with clarity and a purpose of service that the judge was impressed by.”
“I’m hopeful and glad that we’re one huge step closer to bringing the boys home,” the brothers’ attorney Mark Geragos said after court.
“This encourages people who are incarcerated to make the right decisions, to take the right path,” Geragos said, adding, “It’s just a win-win on so many levels.”
Erik and Lyle Menendez were initially sentenced to life without the possibility of parole for the 1989 murders of their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez. They have the support of over 20 family members in their efforts to be freed.
The brothers watched Tuesday’s much-anticipated resentencing hearing via video from prison and gave their own statements to the judge.
Geragos called several Menendez relatives to the stand, including Baralt.
Through tears, Baralt pleaded with Judge Michael Jesic to release her cousins, noting time is running out for them to be reunited with aging family members.
“They are very different men” than when they committed the murders, Baralt said, adding that “their transformation is remarkable.”
During cross-examination, Baralt told prosecutors that the brothers have taken full responsibility for the crimes and Lyle Menendez has admitted to asking a witness to lie at trial. But Baralt conceded they haven’t acknowledged some aspects of the case to her, as prosecutors argue the brothers haven’t admitted to the full extent of their crimes and cover-ups.
In this April 12, 1991 file photo, Lyle, left, and Erik Menendez appear in court for a preliminary hearing held in Beverly Hills, Calif.
Kevork Djansezian/AP, FILE
A retired judge who worked with therapy dogs said on the stand that the brothers are looked at as leaders and that they changed his views on inmate rehabilitation. He said he used to want to punish defendants, but because of the brothers and their work to help the elderly and other inmates, he now believes in rehabilitation.
The prosecution did not call any witnesses.
Jesic’s resentencing decision follows the recommendation made in October by then-Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón.
Gascón recommended the brothers’ sentences of life without parole be removed, and said they should instead be sentenced for murder, which is a sentence of 50 years to life. Because both brothers were under 26 at the time of the crimes, they’re eligible for parole immediately under California law.
Gascón’s office said its resentencing recommendations take into account many factors, including rehabilitation in prison and abuse or trauma that contributed to the crime. Gascón praised the brothers’ conduct in prison, saying they rehabilitated themselves and started programs to help other inmates.
This combination of two booking photos provided by the California Department of Corrections shows Erik Menendez, left, and Lyle Menendez.
California Dept. of Corrections via AP
In November, Gascón lost his reelection bid to Nathan Hochman, who in March filed a motion to withdraw the resentencing petition, calling the brothers’ claims of self-defense part of a litany of “lies.” The judge denied Hochman’s request.
Tuesday’s resentencing hearing was a face-off between Geragos and Hochman, who wants to keep the brothers behind bars.
“The issue is not never for the resentencing,” Hochman told ABC News in an exclusive interview Monday night. “It’s not yet.”
“The Menendez brothers have failed to come clean with the full extent of their criminal conduct, their cover-up, their lies and their deceit,” Hochman said outside court Tuesday morning.
“When and if they do, and they do it sincerely,” Hochman said, they would be “ready for resentencing.”
Meanwhile, Geragos told reporters outside court on Tuesday, “There are no two better candidates in the state of California right now for resentencing than Erik and Lyle Menendez.”
“It’s a unicorn-style situation where you have horrific crimes — that nobody is walking away from — but also remarkable, remarkable, almost unparalleled rehabilitation and redemption,” he said.
“All of the living members of the family are unified in their belief that they should be released and released immediately,” Geragos added.
A hearing was held Friday to determine whether the resentencing case should include information from the California Board of Parole’s newly completed risk assessment, which was conducted as a part of a separate clemency path. The risk assessment came at the request of Gov. Gavin Newsom as a part of the brothers’ clemency bid; the brothers are pursuing multiple avenues to freedom, and the clemency path is separate from the resentencing path.
Their next court appearance for the clemency case is June 13.
The risk assessment said Erik and Lyle Menendez pose a moderate risk to the community if they’re released.
The assessment revealed the brothers possessed illegal cellphones in prison, among numerous other violations, though many are not recent. However, Erik Menendez had a phone as recently as January of this year, which Hochman stressed was during the resentencing effort when he should have been on his best behavior.
The defense noted Erik Menendez had one write-up for violence 25 years ago and Lyle Menendez has had none.
Jesic indicated he will take some of the risk assessment into account for the resentencing case, but he added that the information in the assessment is preliminary and attorneys can’t question the psychologists who performed the examinations.
