A California judge has ruled that Lyle and Erik Menendez will be resentenced to a term of 50 years to life in prison for the 1996 murders of their parents — a MAJOR resentencing move that makes them immediately eligible for parole, essentially laying the path for the pair to go free.
Of course, Lyle (now 57, above left) and Erik (now 54, above right) were sentenced to life in prison nearly 30 years ago now for the fatal shootings of their parents Jose and Kitty Menendez in the den of the family’s Beverly Hills home on August 20, 1989. The brothers have said the killings came after years of sexual abuse by their father, which they allege was summarily ignored by their mother.
Related: Rosie O’Donnell Says Lyle Menendez Is The First ‘Straight Man’ She’s Loved — Huh?!
But according to Tuesday reports from Fox 11 Los Angeles, NBC News, and ABC 10 San Diego, Judge Michael Jesic has resentenced the duo from a life sentence to the 50-year bid. That means they’d theoretically be eligible for parole now — and could soon be released.
In his statement in court per those outlets, Judge Jesic said he’d given the difficult matter “long thought” and acknowledged the brothers had indeed committed “an absolutely horrific crime, and there’s no way around it.” He also said:
“Life without parole gives an inmate no hope, no reason to do anything good. And I give them a lot of credit. It’s remarkable what they did when they had no hope of getting out.”
The brothers’ defense attorney Mark Geragos concurred, telling media outlets:
“I want to do a hat tip to Judge Jesic, who was able to cancel out all the noise surrounding this, all of the grandstanding, all of the political back and forth — and he did what justice said should happen.”
Geragos added:
“The fact is, the Menendez brothers have done remarkable work, and today is a great day after 35 years. On a day like today, redemption is possible.”
BTW, that “cancel out all the noise” remark from Geragos has to do with current Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman, who went against previous LA DA George Gascón and said the brothers should NOT be resentenced.
Hochman has stayed firm in his opinion on the matter. But, well, the judge ruled this way completely in spite of the current DA’s concerns.
Reactions, y’all? This is a BIG story no matter how you slice it. Share your takes down in the comments (below)…
[Image via California Department of Corrections]
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