LOS ANGELES — A California judge on Tuesday resentenced Erik and Lyle Menendez, making the siblings eligible for parole in the shotgun killings of their parents more than three decades ago.
The ruling from Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic came after months of delays, opposition from Los Angeles County’s new top prosecutor and a series of witnesses who testified during a sometimes emotional hearing Tuesday that Erik, 54, and Lyle, 57, had changed for the better and are now “different men,” as a cousin, Anamaria Baralt, put it.
The Menendez brothers have been serving sentences of life without the possibility of parole for the murder of José and Kitty Menendez on Aug. 20, 1989, at their Beverly Hills home.
Jesic said they would be resentenced to 50 years to life, a prison term that will make them immediately eligible for parole. He said he did not believe they posed an “unreasonable risk” if released.
A California parole board will decide if the men are suitable for release.
The brothers began giving statements via videolink immediately after the judge’s ruling, with Lyle saying he made no excuses for killing his parents and acknowledging that he made a “mockery of the legal system” after his arrest by seeking to have people perjure themselves on his behalf.
“Today, 35 years later, I am deeply ashamed of who I was,” he said.
Erik echoed those comments. His crimes were “cruel and vicious,” he said, adding that he is “directly responsible for it all.”
Among those to speak on the brothers’ behalf was a retired judge who described himself as “very pro-law enforcement” and said he’d never before testified for someone convicted of a crime.
Another witness, a rapper who goes by “X-Raided,” said he met the siblings in prison and attributed his release under California’s youthful offender law to them.
“I went to what I call Menendez University,” he said, recalling how they helped him and other inmates learn to express remorse and gain insight into their crimes.
During two trials between 1993 and 1996, the brothers testified that they killed their parents in self-defense after Lyle threatened to expose his father’s alleged abuse of his brother.
Prosecutors described the killings as cold-blooded and financially-motivated.
The first trial ended with a hung jury. They were convicted of first-degree murder after the second.
Prior to being voted out of office in November, former Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón cited the siblings’ “exceptional” prison records and rehabilitation efforts and recommended that they be resentenced to 50 years to life in prison. The former prosecutor’s efforts were backed by many of the victims’ relatives and some celebrities.
Gascón’s successor, Nathan Hochman, opposed their release, saying the brothers had not taken full responsibility for a series of “unacknowledged” lies that he said they told about the killings.
“Our position is not no or not never,” Hochman said of their resentencing before Tuesday’s hearing. “It’s not yet. The Menendez brothers have failed to come clean with the full extent of their criminal conduct, their cover up, their lies and their deceit over the past 30 years.”
A lawyer for the brothers, Mark Geragos, accused the prosecutor of trying to “relitigate” the facts of the case and said the only issue before the judge was determining whether the defendants will commit a “superstrike,” or a serious crime.
“On a day like today, redemption is possible,” Geragos said after Jesic made his ruling. “We’re one huge step closer to bringing the boys home.”
The judge’s ruling only makes the brothers eligible for parole. The state’s parole board will still have to find them suitable for release, a process that is subject to review by California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
As part of a separate clemency request the brothers filed with Newsom, he ordered the board to conduct an evaluation to determine what danger the brothers may pose if released. Hochman said that evaluation, known as a comprehensive risk assessment, found that the brothers were at “moderate risk” of violence.
The parole board is expected to submit its clemency recommendation to the governor on June 13.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
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