The Menendez brothers’ hearing can go ahead despite the opposition of the district prosecutor, tried a court in Los Angeles.
The brothers’ lawyers are trying to make them ensure that the term to a lower term, which could potentially make them eligible for freedom.
Erik and Lyle were found guilty of having killed their parents in their Beverly Hills manor in 1989, a notorious affair that still divides the Americans. They are currently serving for life in prison without the possibility of parole in California.
Friday’s decision means that a pair of hearing very publicized next week to decide whether the convicted killers will continue.
The Los Angeles District Prosecutor Nathan Hochman expressed fierce opposition in the way of feeling the pair, after his predecessor put the process in motion just before the November elections.
The brothers’ effort is based on a Californian law which allows certain detainees under the age of 26 at the time of their crimes to seek resentment and potential eligibility on parole – recognizing that brain development continues in the mid -twenty of a person.
If the brothers are sentenced to 50 years for life as they asked, this would immediately make them eligible for parole.
Lyle and Erik Menendez appeared to have heard from a distance via a video flow from a San Diego prison. The two were dressed in blue prison combinations and sometimes seemed nervous – looking down, swinging on chairs and taking deep breaths – while prosecutors told the graphic details of the murders.
The District Prosecutor’s Office argued that even if prosecutors can recognize that prisoners have rehabilitated in the bars, the act of not having the conviction to someone should be used with care.
Deputy Prosecutor of District Habib Balian criticized the former DA George Gascón, whose support for the renowned effort allowed him to move forward.
He said Gascón’s decision to announce his support to the brothers to sum up just before the November elections, which Gascón lost to Hochman by a large margin, was politically motivated.
The DA office argued that the brothers had not fully taken responsibility and continued to seize alleged lies in the case to blame themselves.
Mark Geragos, lawyer for the Menendez brothers, argued that the district prosecutor’s office was more concerned to re-read the previous trial and had not examined what the pair had done in the last 35 years in prison.
The pair had completed its studies in the bars and had worked to start rehabilitation programs for disabled and elderly detainees, as well as imprisoned people with trauma, he said.
The judge ruled that prosecutors have not shown why the renowned effort should not continue and stressed the importance of maintaining consistency, even with leadership changes.
“There is no new information,” said the judge. “None of this is really new. They stayed with their history. It is about knowing if they have been rehabilitated.”
The case was repel the public’s eyes Last year when new evidence emerged and the release of a New Netflix Drama, Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez.
The series presented the case to a new generation and drew the attention of celebrities – including Kim Kardashian and Rosie O’Donnell – who called for the release of the brothers.
Legal experts claim that the outcome of the renowned hearing of the Menendez brothers could take several forms, according to the way the judge reigns.
The simplest path would be to completely deny resentment, leaving its current sentence – without the possibility of parole – unharmed. This is the result that the Los Angeles district prosecutor, Nathan Hochman, puts pressure on, arguing that the brothers have not fully accepted the responsibility of their crimes and are therefore not eligible for a reduced conviction.
Alternatively, the court could be placed on the side of the previous recommendation of the former DA George Gascón and the restraint of the brothers at 50 for life. This would immediately make them eligible for parole because they have already served more than 30 years. But eligibility does not guarantee release; They would still need to convince a parole commission that they are no longer a danger to society.
Another possibility is that the judge opts for a modified sentence which reduces his punishment but does not immediately open the door to parole. In this case, the brothers could face several more years behind bars before becoming eligible.
The renowned offer is one of the three roads that the brothers have pursued in recent months in the hope of being released.
The governor of California Gavin Newsom still weighs another option: to grant the leniency of the brothers.
Newsom said the brothers were to appear before the State’s conditional release committee on June 13 to discuss the conclusions of an assessment of the risks he had ordered, examining if Erik and Lyle pose a danger to the company.
According to the results, the governor could grant a leniency, commuting to make them eligible for parole or even to release them.
The third route that the brothers watched – asking for a new trial – struck a roadblock when Hochman’s office announced that they would oppose the request.
