LOS ÁNGELES (AP) — Resentencing hearings for Erik and Lyle Menendez can proceed despite the strong opposition from the Los Angeles County district attorney, as ruled by a judge this Friday.
The Menendez brothers were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole at the ages of 18 and 21 after being found guilty of murdering their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez, in their Beverly Hills home in 1989.
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Last year, the former Los Angeles District Attorney, George Gascón, requested a judge to change the sentence of the brothers from life imprisonment without the possibility of parole to a sentence between 50 years and life imprisonment. This made them immediately eligible for parole because they committed the crime when they were under 26 years old.
But Gascón’s successor, Nathan Hochman, backtracked. Hochman filed a motion last month to withdraw the resentencing request.
Hochman’s office said they could not support the resentencing of the brothers because they had not admitted the lies told during their trial about why they killed their parents and did not “acknowledge, accept, and fully assume responsibility” for their crime.
Los Ángeles County Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic said that prosecutors can make that argument during the resentencing hearing, which is scheduled for Thursday, April 17 and Friday, April 18. He noted, “Everything you argued today is completely valid for the resentencing hearing next Thursday.”
The siblings appeared in court via Zoom, but did not make any public statements.
The defense argued that they acted in self-defense after years of sexual abuse by their father, but the prosecutors alleged that the siblings killed their parents for a multimillion-dollar inheritance.
In a tough argument, Deputy District Attorney Habib Balian said on Friday that the key issue with Gascón’s resentencing request was that it did not fully address rehabilitation and omitted key elements of the original crime committed.
Balian presented evidence and video clips of the testimony from the brothers in the first trial to demonstrate instances where they “entrenched themselves in their bunker of deceit, lies, and falsehoods.”
He claimed that the brothers killed their parents out of greed when they found out they would be cut out of the will, citing notes from a psychiatrist that, according to him, showed that “this was not self-defense”.
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The lawyer for the brothers, Mark Geragos, described the presentation as a “circus show” and stated that it was nothing more than “political coverage” as a result of Hochman defeating Gascón in the district attorney election.
“They have authorized the denial of sexual abuse,” Geragos said about the prosecution’s presentation.
Geragos argued that the judge had full authority to proceed with the resentencing in accordance with a California law passed in 2023 that allows a court to revoke a sentence and commence a resentencing at any time.
Geragos also objected to Balian including a photo of the deceased and bloodied Menendez parents in his presentation, which, according to him, “retraumatized” the family members and victims. The cousins of the brothers, Anamaria Baralt, and aunt Terry Baralt were some of the relatives who were in the courtroom.
Most of the siblings’ family supports their resentencing.
Tamara Goodall, a cousin of the brothers, filed a complaint with the state requesting that Hochman be removed from the case, citing his bias against the brothers and alleging that he violated a law intended to protect the rights of victims.
Goodall wrote that Hochman had a “hostile, disdainful, and condescending” tone in meetings with the family and created an “intimidating and harassing environment.”
In their response to the district attorney’s motion to withdraw the resentencing request, the Menendez brothers’ lawyers questioned whether Hochman had legitimate reasons to do so or if he was influenced by “a change in political winds.”
The lawyers pointed out that Hochman demoted Nancy Theberge and Brock Lunsford, the two assistant district attorneys who filed the original motion for resentencing. Theberge and Lunsford have filed lawsuits against Hochman for harassment, discrimination, and retaliation for their work on the Menendez brothers’ case.
The Menendez brothers also submitted a clemency request to the governor of California, Gavin Newsom, who has ordered the state’s parole board to investigate whether the brothers would pose a risk to the public if released. The parole board is scheduled to hold their final hearings on June 13th.