Los Angeles:

Family members of Lyle and Erik Menendez on Wednesday pleaded for the discharge of the long-imprisoned brothers as US prosecutors evaluate new proof regarding the notorious 1989 homicide of their dad and mom.

The grisly shotgun slayings of rich music mogul Jose Menendez and his spouse Kitty of their Beverly Hills house — and their sons’ subsequent, televised homicide trials — turned the topic of a media frenzy. A success Netflix collection has not too long ago sparked recent curiosity within the case.

The brothers, aged 21 and 18 on the time of the murders, tearfully testified they killed their dad and mom for worry of their very own lives after years of sexual abuse by their father. 

They have been convicted of first-degree homicide and have been serving life sentences in jail with out risk of parole since their sentencing in 1996.

“As particulars of Lyle and Eric’s abuse got here to gentle, it turned clear that their actions, whereas tragic, have been the determined response of two boys making an attempt to outlive the unspeakable merciless(ty) of their father,” their 92-year-old aunt Joan VanderMolen stated Wednesday.

“Lyle and Erik have already paid a heavy value, discarded by a system that failed to acknowledge their ache,” she instructed a information convention attended by some 30 kin.

Their preliminary trial, beginning in 1993, was one of many first televised homicide circumstances to make every day headlines world wide. It led to a mistrial resulting from a deadlocked jury, however they have been discovered responsible in a second trial.

Prosecutors argued they conspired to homicide their dad and mom to be able to inherit their $14 million fortune.

Final yr, the brothers’ attorneys filed a courtroom petition setting out new proof which they stated demonstrates Jose Menendez’s historical past of sexual abuse.

Among the many new proof is a letter Erik wrote to a cousin months earlier than the murders, saying “I have been making an attempt to keep away from dad. It is nonetheless occurring… Each night time I keep up considering he may are available.”

Former Latino boy band member Roy Rossello stated in a documentary collection launched final yr that he was drugged and raped by Jose Menendez within the Nineteen Eighties.

The brothers’ attorneys have referred to as for a resentencing, which may see their purchasers launched from jail given the prolonged time already spent behind bars.

Prosecutors stated in an announcement Wednesday that Los Angeles’s prison justice system “has developed a extra trendy understanding of sexual violence because the Menendez brothers first confronted prosecution.” 

“Right this moment, our workplace acknowledges that sexual violence is a pervasive challenge affecting numerous people — of all gender identities,” they wrote, confirming the case is being reviewed on a number of fronts.

Earlier this month, Los Angeles district legal professional George Gascon instructed reporters he had “an ethical and an moral obligation to evaluate what’s being introduced to us.”

His feedback got here two weeks after the discharge on Netflix of the crime drama “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.” The streaming large additionally put out a documentary movie, “The Menendez Brothers,” final week.

Gascon, who’s working for re-election on a prison reform platform, acknowledged the preliminary Netflix present resulted in numerous calls to his workplace concerning the case.

A listening to is scheduled for November 26.
 

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