(NewsNation) — Attorney Mark Geragos told NewsNation on Tuesday that he’s “cautiously optimistic” the Menendez brothers will get another court hearing after new evidence in the case surfaced last month.
In May, Erik, 52, and Lyle Menendez, 55, requested the court vacate their 1996 convictions, citing two pieces of evidence backing their claim that their father was sexually abusing them.
The allegations came in the wake of an explosive documentary airing on Peacock titled “Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed.” The brothers were convicted of murdering their parents Jose and Kitty Menendez in 1989 and sentenced to life in prison.
Geragos said both pieces of evidence show that the exclusion of abuse in the second trial was wrong and thinks if the jury had heard all the evidence, the brothers wouldn’t be in jail.
Rosie O’Donnell, among others, is also urging freedom for the brothers.
In a TikTok video, O’Donnell said she was “afraid” to speak out about the case when it happened.
“I was afraid and I wasn’t ready to touch the subject and you know, it was 1996. In ’96 … people weren’t ready to accept the fact that boys get raped sometimes by their fathers, and as a culture, we ridiculed them,” O’Donnell said.