Menendez brothers eligible for parole after resentencing: “One huge step closer to bringing the boys home”

The Menendez brothers have been resentenced to 50 years to life in prison, opening them up for the possibility of parole after spending more than three decades behind bars for killing their parents decades ago. 

Prior to the judge’s decision on Tuesday, Erik and Lyle Menendez were serving life sentences without the possibility of parole for the 1989 killings of their parents, Kitty and Jose Menendez, inside their Beverly Hills home. The brothers have claimed that they acted in self-defense after years of alleged physical, sexual and emotional abuse at the hands of their parents.

Now, if approved, the case will go to the California Board of Parole Hearings before it is sent to the governor’s office.

Mark Geragos, the attorney representing the brothers, spoke after the decision was handed down. 

“I want to hat tip 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 the code section said he should do, he did what justice said should happen, he struck the special circumstance and sentenced them to 50-to-life,” he said. “The resentencing has happened.”

He called the decision one that “will reverberate in the criminal justice system.”

“It’s a whole different world we live in now,” Geragos said. “One of the things I think is important is to recognize that, like the legislature has done, we have evolved — this is not the 90s anymore.”  

After 35 years behind bars, Erik and Lyle Menendez’s relatives rejoiced after the judge’s decision. 

“I am so happy that I wore waterproof mascara, as I am feeling. I’ve been crying all day long,” cousin Annamaria Baralt said. “Mark Geragos and Cliff Gardner, thank you so much. You have brought hope to this family.”

The road to resentencing

Erik and Lyle Menendez’s appellate attorneys filed a resentencing petition in 2023, arguing that new evidence corroborated the brothers’ abuse allegations and supported their bid for a reduced sentence, potentially leading to their release or parole consideration.

“Two years ago, Cliff and I were talking about another case, and he mentioned the Menendez brothers.” Geragos said, mentioning Cliff Gardner, the appellate attorney who first filed the resentencing petition in 2023. “We decided, let’s do it. … Now we see the pot at the end of the rainbow and their freedom.”

Before heading into court on Tuesday, Hochman reiterated the prosecution’s stance that they do not believe the brothers should be released at all, just not yet. He alleged the Menendez brothers killed their parents in a “methodical way” similar to a “mafia hit.”

Last week, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic was set to consider a recusal motion filed by appellate attorney Mark Geragos in April seeking to have Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman and his office removed from the case. In court documents, Geragos argued that “a conflict of interest would render it likely that the defendants will receive neither a fair hearing nor fair treatment through all related proceedings.” 

But Geragos withdrew the request before the hearing on Friday, saying he did not want any more delays in the resentencing process.

On Friday, Hochman again attempted to withdraw former Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón’s 2024 resentencing motion in support of Erik and Lyle Menendez, claiming a parole board’s comprehensive risk assessment on the brothers should be included when considering their petition. Hochman has also argued that the brothers have not taken full responsibility for their crimes. 

California Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered the risk assessment earlier this year as part of the Menendez brothers’ request for clemency.

Read more: Menendez brothers’ family blames LA County DA Hochman after their aunt is hospitalized

In court Friday, Hochman said the board “determined that each of the Menendez brothers constituted a moderate risk of violence, which was higher than the prior determinations of low risk of violence.” He said the report cited specific actions by Erik and Lyle Menendez that supported the determination, including an incident in January in which Erik Menendez was allegedly found with a cell phone that was illegally brought into prison.

Geragos argued that risk assessment should not be allowed in resentencing proceedings, saying the parole board does not allow psychologists to testify in hearings, including resentencing hearings. 

The state parole board is set to conduct separate hearings on June 13 for Erik and Lyle Menendez. The board will then send Newsom final reports to help the governor determine whether the brothers should receive clemency.

While the brothers appeared at the resentencing hearing virtually, it is unclear if they will be called to take the stand. 

During a court recess, Geragos spoke to reporters, saying the Mendez brothers’ family members are unified in their belief that they should be released. 

He also said the resentencing hearing is about redemption and not about relitigating the facts of the crime, like he accused the DA’s office of doing. Geragos and his team are asking for the brothers to be released without a parole hearing by pushing for a recall of their initial sentence to a lesser one.

“I’m hopeful and glad we’re one huge step closer to bringing the boys home,” Geragos said.

What new evidence was offered by the Menendez brothers in their resentencing petition?

The first witness to take the stand during Tuesday’s resentencing hearing was the brothers’ cousin, Annamaria Baralt. She took the stand after Jesic explained the law for resentencing that says, unless there’s a super strike, he has the presumption that the brothers will be resentenced. 

She said she has forgiven the brothers and believes they are different men from the boys who committed the crimes. She added that if they are free, she assumes the brothers would advocate for victims of sexual abuse and childhood trauma. 

Baralt was cross-examined by Deputy District Attorney Habib Balian for the prosecution. He asked her if they had ever admitted to any of the alleged lies they made during their initial trial, about making people falsely testify, and she said no, they have not discussed those details. 

Baralt has been a longtime advocate for the Menendez brothers’ release, appearing at several demonstrations, including one outside of Hochman’s office in March. 

Who testified at the Menendez brothers’ resentencing hearing?

Along with Baralt, two other cousins of the Menendez brothers, Tamara Goodell and Diane Hernandez, also offered testimony on Tuesday.

Goodell provided information on some of the ventures the brothers have taken on while behind bars, including Lyle’s Greenspace Project and Erik’s work on providing hospice care to the aging inmate population.

The fourth witness, former judge Jonathan Colby who described himself as tough on crime, said that the brothers helped him change his mind on inmate rehabilitation. He says that in the past he has never written a declaration nor has he testified for any other inmate, but after meeting them while doing outreach work with his dog Gracie, he hopes to help educate other judges. 

Anerae Brown, an ex-inmate sentenced to death row, also testified on Tuesday. He offered a look into his relationship with the brothers, who he says helped him earn parole after spending 26 years in prison. 

Brown reacted to news of the brothers’ resentencing. 

“As a life prisoner with 31-to-life, becoming a youthful offender, seeing the laws change and ultimately being free … I can assure everyone here that the brothers will do a great job when they get to board,” he said. “I’m very proud of them for continuing in this way to lead. … The fact that they pursued so many different rehabilitative possibilities, that they instituted so many different programs and made it so far is going to produce a sort of hope in a hopeless environment.”