Erik and Lyle Menendez will have a new shot at freedom after 35 years behind bars for murdering their parents, a judge ruled on Tuesday.
The ruling from Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic reduced the brothers’ sentences from life in prison without parole to 50 years to life, making them immediately eligible for parole.
The state parole board, set to meet next month, must decide whether to release them.
The judge’s decision followed months of pushback from prosecutors who opposed resentencing, arguing the brothers hadn’t taken adequate responsibility for their crimes.
Ultimately prosecutors did not call any witnesses, saying they had presented all of their evidence.
The defence turned to family members and those who knew the brothers since their conviction to speak to their character and rehabilitation.
The brothers addressed the court via video as family members listened on tearfully. Most of the brothers’ family members, including aunts and uncles, have long supported their bid for freedom.
“On August 20, 1989, I killed my mom and dad. I make no excuses and also no justification,” Lyle Menendez said, choking up as he addressed the room. “The impact of my violent actions on my family … is unfathomable.”
Jesic issued his decision immediately after the brothers spoke. The hearing was slated to last two days, but Jesic made his decision in one, offering the brothers new hope after years of unsuccessful appeals and attempts to win freedom in a case that has captured public attention from the start.
The brothers were convicted in 1996 for murdering their father, Jose Menendez – a powerful record executive – and their mother, Kitty Menendez, in their Beverly Hills home in 1989. The brothers were 18 and 21 at the time.
While defense attorneys argued the brothers acted out of self-defense after years of sexual abuse by their father, prosecutors said the brothers killed their parents for a multimillion-dollar inheritance.
While the sentence reduction is a major win for the brothers, defense attorney Mark Geragos said he had been seeking to have their charges reduced to manslaughter, which would have allowed them be immediately released. The judge did not go that far.
“I’m not saying they should be released; it’s not for me to decide,” Jesic said. “I do believe they’ve done enough in the past 35 years, that they should get that chance.”
The brothers have an appearance before the parole board on June 13 as part of a risk assessment report ordered by California Gov. Gavin Newsom to aid in his clemency decision.
Erik Menendez also spoke about taking responsibility for his actions and apologised to his family.
“You did not deserve what I did to you, but you inspire me to do better,” he said.
The judge said he was especially moved by a letter from a prison official who supported resentencing, something the official had never done for any incarcerated person in the 25 years of his career.
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