The family of Erik and Lyle Menendez will meet with the Los Angeles County district attorney on Friday in a continued attempt to secure a reduced sentence for the brothers, who are serving life in prison without parole for the highly publicized murders of their parents in 1989.
More than 20 family members are expected to meet with District Attorney Nathan Hochman to show their “support for a resentencing process that reflects the abuse, trauma and demonstrated rehabilitation of Erik and Lyle over the past 35 years,” he said. the family-run court Justice for Erik and Lyle. the coalition said in a statement.
Erik and Lyle were sentenced in 1996, after two trials, for the shooting deaths of José and Kitty Menéndez in the family’s Beverly Hills home on August 20, 1989. The brothers’ first separate trials ended with juries in disagreement after they were unable to deliver a unanimous verdict, but were found guilty of first-degree murder during a joint retrial.
The brothers said they shot their parents after years of horrific sexual abuse at the hands of their father, an allegation disputed by prosecutors, who argued the claims were false. Prosecutors said Erik and Lyle committed the murders for financial gain.
The trials of the Menéndez brothers became a media sensation and were broadcast live throughout the country. Since then, his parents’ murders have been the subject of multiple dramatizations and true crime documentaries, most recently a high-profile series and a film that were both on Netflix.
The coalition said it hopes the meeting with Hochman can provide “an open and fair discussion.”
“Despite the abuse they suffered as children and the injustice of their current sentence, Erik and Lyle Menendez have spent the last three decades taking responsibility for their actions and contributing positively to their community through leadership and rehabilitation,” it reads. in the statement.
“During our meeting with DA Hochman, we look forward to sharing our perspective on Erik and Lyle’s immense personal growth over the past 35 years and the ways we plan to support them in their next chapters,” the coalition said. “We hope that this meeting brings us one step closer to spending next Christmas together as a family.”
