Why Are the Menendez Brothers Getting a New Hearing?
LOS ANGELES, UNITED STATES: This 1992 file photo shows double murder defendants Erik (R) and Lyle Menendez (L) during a court appearance in Los Angeles, Ca. The Menendez brothers have been found guilty of first degree murder 20 March in their second trial for the killing of their parents. AFP PHOTO Mike NELSON/mn (Photo credit should read MIKE NELSON/AFP via Getty Images)
UPDATE: On May 13, Judge Michael Messic ruled that the Menendez Brothers will be resentenced to 50 years to life in prison for the murder of their parents. This new sentence makes them eligible for parole immediately and sets the brothers on a path to finally be released. Lyle Menendez is now 57, while his brother Erik Menendez is 54.
“On a day like today, redemption is possible,” said the brothers’ lawyer, Mark Geragos. There has been no word yet on when the brothers could be released.
The Menendez brothers are getting a new hearing. On Thursday, October 3rd, Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón announced at a press conference that a new court hearing for Erik and Lyle Menendez had been set for November 29. But why are the two getting a new hearing now, 28 years after being convicted of murdering their parents Kitty and José Menendez?
At first glance, it seems like the answer is obvious: publicity. Netflix did, after all, just release Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, which presents a fictionalized look at their case. And a few days after the hearing was announced The Menendez Brothers, a new documentary looking back at the case was released on October 7th on Netflix.
The documentary, which features interviews with both Lyle and Erik Menendez, ends with the following statement: “In May 2023, Erik and Lyle filed a habeas petition seeking to vacate their murder convictions. The judge asked the District Attorney to respond and they await a decision.” That line is our first clue that the answer to the question isn’t just publicity. It goes much deeper than that.
Instead, the main reason Lyle and Erik Menendez are getting a new hearing in November is that new evidence has been discovered about the alleged abuse by Lyle and Erik’s father, Jose Menendez.
“We have been given evidence. We have been given a photocopy of a letter that allegedly was sent by one of the brothers to another family member talking about him being the victim of molestation,” Gascón said in the press conference. “We’ve also got evidence that was provided by the defense, by his lawyers, that one of the members of the Menudo band alleged that he was molested by the father.”
The new hearing could lead to either a retrial or a resentencing of the brothers, though no decision has yet been made.