Almost three decades after Erik and Lyle Menendez were sentenced to life prison for their parents’ murders, a California judge reopened a door that many thought they were closed.
In an astonishing decision on Tuesday, the judge of the Superior Court of the County of Los Angeles, Michael Jesic, reduced the sorrows of the brothers of life without parole to life – which makes them eligible for parole.
The decision is the last turn of a case that has captivated America for decades, with an army of lawyers, family members and online supporters in recent years, launching a renewed campaign for the freedom of the brothers, partly fueled by a wave of attention given by a documentary and a dramatic series of Netflix telling the case.
Here is what we know:
Lyle Menendez, 57, and her brother Erik Menendez, 54, spent most of their adult life behind bars for the murders of their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez, at the home of Beverly Hills of the family in 1989.
The brothers, aged 21 and 18, when they made the fatal shots, were found guilty of first degree murder during a 1996 trial, more than two years after separate juries had not reached a verdict in their initial trials.
The brothers admitted the murders but argued that they had acted in self -defense after years of sexual abuse by their father. The prosecutors said that the murders had been motivated by the brothers’ desire for a heritage of several million dollars.
Jesic’s decision means that the Menendez brothers are immediately eligible for parole under Californian law because they committed the murders when they were under 26 years of age.
The judge said that although the brothers committed a horrible crime, they deserved “a lot of credit for changing their lives”.
A letter from a prison official in support of the resentment was particularly moving, said the judge.
The brothers had launched numerous penitentiary programs, including a support group for disabled and elderly prisoners, and collected more than $ 250,000 for an initiative to embellish the prison, the judicial files said.
“I am not saying that they should be released, it is not for me to decide,” said Jesic, adding: “One day, they should have this chance.”
“It is now on the Council of Conditional Liberations and the Governor of California,” he said.
An audience with the California State Cultial Board is already scheduled for June 13 as part of a distinct offer for the freedom of the brothers.
The board of directors could deny the brothers’ request or recommend to the governor that they have granted themselves. If the Commission recommends that parole be granted, the decision will go to the Governor of California Gavin Newsom, who will have 120 days to act.
CNN contacted the Governor’s Office and the State’s conditional release committee to comment on the decision.
Respect is one of the many legal avenues pursued by the brothers to obtain their release. They also deposited a Habeas Corpus petition in search of a new trial and asked the leniency of Newsom.
Dozens of parents from Menendez say that Erik and Lyle have demonstrated years of remorse and rehabilitation since killed their parents. They also argue that the severity of the sentence should be revisited due to an in -depth cultural understanding of sexual abuse of the child since murders.
The offer of the brothers for Liberation received a renewed momentum in 2023 when a former member of the group of boys Menodo accused Jose Menendez publicly – then a leader of RCA Records – of having raped her in the mid -1980s.
In recent months, supporters from across the country have gathered during rallies and audiences pleading for the release of the brothers.
They say that the prosecutors and the media have neglected abuse complaints and designed the brothers as arrogant heirs and self-in the succession of $ 14 million in their parents during their trials in the 1990s.
Diane Hernandez, a cousin who lived with the Menendez family, testified on Tuesday of the intimidation of Jose, including a strict “corridor rule” which prohibited the others of his time with the brothers.
“Please be a merciful,” she urged, calling the brothers “remarkable human beings at this stage.”
“I am touched and humiliated by the outpouring support,” said Erik Menendez in a statement published Tuesday evening at ABC News after the decision.
“It must be the first step to give people who have no hope in prison a little hope,” he said. “My goal is to make sure that there are no more people who spend 35 years in hopeless prison. This possibility of having hope that rehabilitation works is more important than anything that happened to me today. ”
Earlier Tuesday, the brothers said they had taken “my entire responsibility” for the murders while they appear before the prison distance judge.
“I committed an excruciating act against two people who had the right to live, my mother and my father,” said Erik, adding that he “had created overwhelming sadness” for his family and that there was “no excuse” for his behavior.
“I will never stop trying to make the difference that I am inside or outside the prison,” he said.
Lyle also admitted to having killed his parents, saying that he “was immature” and “filled with rage”. “If I had trusted others to help me, I would not have committed these crimes,” he said. “I didn’t think anyone would believe my sexual abuse.”
Critics argue that murders have been calculated with greed, rather than acts of despair of victims of mistreatment.
While the case of the brothers was defended by the former District Prosecutor of the County of Los Angeles, his successor, Nathan Hochman, took a harder position against their release.
“The decision to resolve Erik and Lyle Menendez was monumental which has important implications for the families involved, the community and the principles of justice,” said Hochman in a statement on Tuesday evening. “The requests of our office to withdraw the renowned request filed by the previous administration guaranteed that the court was presented with all the facts before making such a substantial decision.”
Earlier Tuesday, Hochman told CNN that the brothers had “made” abuse complaints and should first assume responsibility for their actions before requesting parole.
“If and when they do, they will be ready to feel,” he said.
Hochman also underlined the recent conclusion of risk assessments carried out by the State’s conditional libertions committee that the brothers would present a risk of “moderate” violence if it were released.
