(NewsNation) — The Menendez brothers’ push for resentencing can move forward despite opposition from the Los Angeles County district attorney, a judge ruled Friday.
A judge rejected the LA County District Attorney’s bid to withdraw a resentencing petition, which paves the way for a resentencing hearing next Thursday.
Lyle and Erik Menendez were convicted of shooting and killing their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez, at their Beverly Hills home in 1989. They were sentenced to life in prison without parole at ages 18 and 21.
“They’ve waited a long time to get some justice, today is actually probably the biggest day since they’ve been incarcerated,” the brothers’ attorney, Mark Geragos, said of the family.
Another member of the defense team, Alexandra Kazarian, said it’s possible the brothers could walk free as soon as next week, depending on what the judge decides.
“That could be in the cards,” she told NewsNation’s “Banfield.”
The brothers’ case was reopened in October of last year when then-District Attorney George Gascón announced his office would reexamine the case in light of new evidence, which included a letter alleging sexual abuse purportedly written by Erik Menendez just months before the shooting.
But then, newly elected DA Nathan Hochman submitted a request to withdraw the resentencing petition and said the brothers have not yet fully accepted responsibility for the crime.
Hochman: Menendez brothers can’t be trusted until they ‘come clean’
In a NewsNation interview on Friday, Hochman said he opposed the prior DA’s resentencing request because it had “no analysis” of the Menendez brothers’ failure to “completely accept responsibility for all the lies they have told.”
“Until they come fully clean with the full breadth of their lies, deceit and denials, they are not in a position to be trusted,” Hochman told NewsNation’s Elizabeth Vargas.
Those lies, Hochman said, include the brothers’ claim of self-defense, the characterization of their father as a “violent rapist” and their mother as a “poisoner of the family,” among others.
“We’re going to be prepared to argue that the Menendez brothers’ request is not ripe; it’s actually premature because they have failed to unequivocally and sincerely admit all the wrongdoing that they have been engaged in,” Hochman said.
Menendez family elated at resentencing
Family members of the Menendez brothers have pushed back on Hochman’s prior statements. In March, Cousin Tamara Goodell told a rally of resentencing supporters that “kids lie when they’re scared, when they feel intimidated, and when they become traumatized.”
“But they grow up, they learn, and they take responsibility,” Goodell said.
On Friday, she became emotional at the prospect the brothers could go free in the near future.
“Today’s decision is just remarkable, and I can’t even tell you or put into words the elation my family has felt today,” Goodell told “Banfield.”
Reporter from trial has reservations
Also weighing in Friday was Alan Abrahamson, who covered the murders for the L.A. Times. Now a law professor, Abrahamson said the brothers’ life sentences should stand.
He said decades later he can’t get the murder of Kitty Menendez out of his mind.
“No matter what you think about Jose, the brothers shotgunned their mother to death for no reason that anyone has been able to identify,” he told “Banfield.”
Advocates for the brothers say they have led exemplary lives behind bars. But Abrahamson said prison isn’t necessarily for rehabilitation, at least where capital murder is concerned. He stopped short of saying the Menendez brothers would be a danger to society, if released.
“Who wants to take that political risk?” he said.
NewsNation’s Michael Ramsey contributed to this report.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.