Judge rules Menendez brothers resentencing hearing will go ahead despite district attorney’s opposition
A California judge ruled Friday that the resentencing hearings for Erik and Lyle Menendez, who were convicted of murdering their parents over three decades ago, will go ahead as planned.
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic said following arguments in Los Angeles Superior Court that the hearing will proceed next Thursday.
Deputy LA District Attorney Habib Balian had argued that the brothers should remain in prison, saying they “hadn’t changed” since their conviction, and claimed that former District Attorney A George Gascon’s move to request reduced sentencing had been politically motivated.
Gascon’s successor, Nathan Hochman, reversed course on the brothers, and submitted a motion last month to withdraw the resentencing request.
The brothers’ attorney, Mark Geragos, harshly criticized the prosecution Friday for showing gruesome crime scene photos in what Geragos said was an attempt to restage the original trial.
Jesic noted in his ruling, referring to the prosecution’s arguments, that “everything you argued today is absolutely fair game for the resentencing hearing .”
The brothers were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole at ages 18 and 21 after being convicted of murdering their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez, in their Beverly Hills home in 1989.
In 2014, California passed a law allowing inmates who had committed offenses before they turned 26 and had spent 25 years behind bars to ask for youth offender parole.
While the defense 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.
On the night of the murders, Jose and Kitty Menendez were watching a movie in their theater den when their sons entered and shot them.
The brothers were convicted in 1996 and have spent 30 years behind bars, most recently being held at the Richard J Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego County.
Friday’s hearing became heated as the prosecution spent nearly two hours arguing the brothers hadn’t been rehabilitated, according to news reports. No cameras were allowed inside the courtroom.
The brothers’ attorney, Mark Geragos, accused the prosecution of grandstanding and trying to relitigate the case, claiming “they don’t want to finish today,” according to Newsweek. Geragos separately accused the prosecution of retraumatizing family members by flashing photos of the bloody crime scene, telling reporters the action was politically motivated.
Last month, Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman, who took office in December, asked the court to withdraw the resentencing motion filed last year by then-District Attorney George Gascón.
