Menendez brothers’ murder sentences reduced – making them eligible for parole
A judge has reduced the Menendez brothers’ murder sentences – meaning they are eligible for parole.
Lyle, 57, and Erik, 54, received life sentences without the possibility of parole after being convicted of murdering their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez, at their Beverly Hills home in 1989.
Last year, the then Los Angeles district attorney George Gascon asked a judge to change the brothers’ sentence from life without the possibility of parole to 50 years to life.
Lyle, left, and Erik Menendez leave a courtroom in Santa Monica in August, 1990.
Pic: AP
On Tuesday, Los Angeles County superior court Judge Michael Jesic did so, paving the way for the brothers’ parole and possible release.
The ruling capped off a day-long hearing in which several relatives, a retired judge and a former fellow inmate testified in support of efforts to shorten the brothers’ sentences.
‘I killed my mum and dad’
The brothers appeared at the proceedings in Los Angeles County Superior Court via video feed from prison in San Diego.
“I killed my mum and dad. I make no excuses and also no justification,” Lyle said in a statement to the court. “The impact of my violent actions on my family… is unfathomable.”
Erik also spoke about taking responsibility for his actions and apologising to his family.
He said: “You did not deserve what I did to you, but you inspire me to do better.”
The brothers did not show any apparent emotion during much of the testimony but chuckled when one of their cousins, Diane Hernandez, told the court that Erik received A+ grades in all of his classes during his most recent semester in college.
Lyle (left) and Erik Menendez in a courtroom in 1990.
Pic: AP
Anamaria Baralt, another cousin of the brothers, told the court they had repeatedly expressed remorse for their actions.
“We all, on both sides of the family, believe that 35 years is enough. They are universally forgiven by our family,” she said.
‘They have not come clean’
Los Angeles County prosecutors argued against the resentencing, saying the brothers have not taken complete responsibility for the crime.
The current district attorney Nathan Hochman said he believes the brothers were not ready for resentencing because “they have not come clean” about their crimes.
His office has also said it does not believe they were sexually abused.
“Our position is not ‘no’. It’s not ‘never’. It’s ‘not yet’,” Mr Hochman said. “They have not fully accepted responsibility for all their criminal conduct.”
District attorney Nathan Hochman speaks to the media on Tuesday at the Menendez brothers’ resentencing hearing.
Pic: Reuters
Path to freedom?
“I’m not saying they should be released, it’s not for me to decide,” Judge Jesic said. “I do believe they’ve done enough in the past 35 years, that they should get that chance.”
After the judge’s decision, the brothers now have a new path to freedom after decades in prison.
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They are now eligible for parole under California’s youthful offender law because they committed the crime while under the age of 26.
The state parole board must still decide whether to release them from prison.
While this decision is made, the brothers will remain behind bars.
During the original trial, prosecutors accused the brothers of killing their parents for a multimillion-dollar inheritance, although their defence team argued they acted out of self-defence after years of sexual abuse by their father.
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The brothers have maintained since they were first charged with the murders that their parents abused them.
A Netflix series and subsequent documentary about the brothers thrust them back into the spotlight last year.
Vladimir Putin told Donald Trump he “will not back down” from Russia’s goals in Ukraine during a phone call today, the Kremlin has said.
The Russian president spoke to his US counterpart for almost an hour, and Mr Trump “again raised the issue of an early end to military action” in Ukraine, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters.
In response, Mr Putin said “Russia will not back down” from its aims there, which include “the elimination of the well-known root causes that led to the current state of affairs,” Mr Ushakov said.
The phrase “root causes” is shorthand for Moscow’s argument that it was compelled to invade Ukraine in order to prevent the country from joining NATO.
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Trump and Putin’s latest call on Ukraine
Ukraine and its European allies say this is a pretext to justify what they call an imperial-style war, but Mr Trump has previously shown sympathy with Russia.
At the same time, Mr Putin told the US president that Russia is ready to continue negotiating, the aide said.
The Russian president said any prospective peace deal must see Ukraine give up its NATO bid and recognise his country’s territorial gains.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, seen with Mr Trump in June, is pushing for Ukraine to join NATO. Pic: Reuters
He also briefed Mr Trump on agreements made last month, which saw Russia and Ukraine exchange prisoners of war and dead soldiers.
Specific dates for the third round of peace talks in Istanbul were not discussed – nor was the US decision to halt some shipments of critical weapons to Ukraine.
Mr Putin and Mr Trump’s call came after the Pentagon confirmed some weapons due to be sent to Ukraine have been held as it reviews military stockpiles.
The paused shipments include air defence missiles and precision-guided artillery, two people familiar with the situation have said.
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The decision led to Ukraine calling in the acting US envoy to Kyiv on Wednesday to underline the importance of military aid from Washington.
Kyiv also cautioned that the move would weaken Ukraine’s ability to defend itself against intensifying Russian airstrikes and battlefield advances.
Mr Putin and Mr Trump’s phone call was the sixth they have publicly disclosed since the US president returned to the White House in January.
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