Erik and Lyle Menendez will get their day in court to seek a new sentence, and possibly win their freedom, after an intense battle with the LA County DA ended with the judge ruling in the brothers’ favour.
The Menendez brothers appeared remotely in the LA County courtroom Friday where DA Nathan Hochman and his team of prosecutors presented their case to the judge for withdrawing the petition to resentence Erik and Lyle, a petition that was filed by the previous DA George Gascon, and which the newly elected Hochman vehemently opposes.
The brothers wearing prison blues were seen on a video screen in court, and visibly reacted as prosecutors repeatedly stated that they had not changed since their conviction, because they never admitted their claim they purchased guns in fear for their lives was a lie.
Hochman’s team also told the judge the prior DA only petitioned to have Erik and Lyle resentenced because he was down by double-digit numbers in the polls, and thought he’d win votes by embracing the brothers.
Erik and Lyle’s attorney, Mark Geragos, groused at the prosecutors’ presentation which lasted more than 2 and a half hours and ripped them for presenting an “SNL skit” that only talked about the 80s and 90s, and ignored everything the Menendez brothers accomplished in the more than 30 years since then.
Once Geragos got his turn, he focused on Erik and Lyle’s efforts to rehabilitate while in prison.
He told the judge about a corrections officer who says he’d welcome Lyle to live in his neighbourhood, and another man who was in prison with them who credits the brothers for improving inmates’ lives by beautifying the prison’s outdoor areas with murals and trees.
When it was all said and done, the judge denied Hochman’s motion to dismiss the resentencing petition meaning the brothers and Geragos will be back in front of the judge next week to seek a new sentence.
Outside court, Geragos called Friday’s hearing possibly Erik and Lyle’s “biggest day since they’ve been in custody.”
He also admonished the DA’s Office for showing gory crime scene photos, without warning, and traumatising the Menendez family members who were in court to support Erik and Lyle.
Before Friday’s hearing started, Cooper Koch, who played Erik in Ryan Murphy’s Netflix series, “Monsters, The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story,” walked into the courtroom with his boyfriend, Erik’s wife, Tammi Menendez was also there with Erik’s adopted daughter, Talia.
So, now the resentencing will go down on April 17, Geragos intends to ask the judge to change their conviction from first degree murder to manslaughter. If that happens, the brothers could be released from prison immediately, because they’ve already served more than the maximum for manslaughter in California.
But, even if the judge doesn’t do that, Governor Gavin Newsom has already sent the Menendez case to the Parole Board, which will review the brothers’ case on June 13 to determine if they’ve been rehabilitated, and if they’re no longer a danger to society.
Erizia Rubyjeana
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