Editor’s Note: This story contains discussions of rape or sexual assault that may be disturbing. Reader discretion is advised. If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, you can find help and discreet resources on the National Sexual Assault Hotline website or by calling 1-800-656-4673.
(NewsNation) — A California judge has ruled in favor of resentencing Erik and Lyle Menendez, giving the brothers a chance at freedom after more than 30 years in prison for the murder of their parents.
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic resentenced the brothers to 50 years to life, making them eligible for parole. Even with the decision, the brothers must still secure approval from the state’s parole board to leave prison.
The brothers’ attorney Mark Geragos commended the judge for “blocking out all the noise” during a news conference following the ruling.
“Redemption is possible,” he said, adding that the decision “encourages people who are incarcerated to take the make the right decisions, to take the right path.”
Members of the Menendez family also expressed their gratitude.
The judge recognized the brothers have lived their lives with clarity and purpose, relative Anamaria Baralt said.
Both Erik and Lyle took full responsibility for their actions in their statements during Tuesday’s hearing.
“On August 20 1989 I killed my mom and dad. I make no excuses… I take full responsibility for my actions… the choice to point a gun at my mom and dad and shoot them… the choice to run and lie… and after my arrest the choice to make a mockery of the legal system,” Lyle said during his statement.
Erik said, “I have no excuse no justification for what I did and there’s nothing that makes it less wrong.”
The brothers have served more than three decades in prison for the 1989 fatal shootings of their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez.
Sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole at 18 and 21, the case was reopened in October 2024 when then-District Attorney George Gascón announced his office would reexamine the case in light of new evidence.
That evidence included a letter alleging sexual abuse purportedly written by Erik Menendez months before the shooting.
But Nathan Hochman, who beat out Gascón in November’s election, had tried and failed twice to withdraw the resentencing petition and maintains the brothers haven’t yet accepted responsibility for the crimes.
His office has also said it does not believe the brothers were sexually abused by their father.
In a statement after Tuesday’s ruling, Hochman said the “decision to resentence Erik and Lyle Menendez was a monumental one that has significant implications for the families involved, the community, and the principles of justice,”
“Our office’s motions to withdraw the resentencing motion filed by the previous administration ensured that the Court was presented with all the facts before making such a consequential decision.”
Family members — and fans of the Netflix show “Monsters” — have refuted Hochman’s claims and led the push for resentencing.
In March, the brothers’ 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.