The Menendez brothers could be out before Christmas

A case that has been the talk of the town for 30 years!

On August 20, 1989, brothers Joseph Lyle Menendez and Erik Galen Menendez murdered their parents, José and Mary Louise Menendez, in their Beverly Hills home. In 1996, they were sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.

The Menendez brothers’ attorney, Mark Geragos, recently said he expects they could be released in time for Christmas, after a significant legal breakthrough that could lead to their release after 35 years in prison. Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon recommended a new sentencing hearing for Lyle, 56, and Erik, 53, citing new evidence in the case as well as their exemplary behavior in prison.

At their first trial, the Menendez brothers claimed to have killed their parents in self-defense, citing years of sexual abuse by their father, while their mother remained passive. The 1993 trial ended in a mistrial.

In their second trial, the judge dismissed the majority of the abuse testimony and limited the jurors’ options to murder, without including the possibility of manslaughter, as had been proposed in the first trial.

A hearing is scheduled for November 26, two days before Thanksgiving, when a Los Angeles Superior Court judge could review their life sentences in light of prosecutor George Gascon’s recommendation and new evidence. The judge could also order a new trial. However, even if the judicial process succeeds, a parole board will have to review their case, leaving them unlikely to be released by Thanksgiving.

The story of the Menendez brothers has regained popularity thanks to the Netflix series Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, starring Javier Bardem, Chloë Sevigny, Cooper Koch and Nicholas Alexander Chavez.

This content was created with the help of AI.