California Governor Gavin Newsom said on Monday that he is halting his decision on Eric and Lyle Menendez’s clemency as the newly-elected prosecutor reviews their case.
In a statement issued to KTLA, Governor Newsom said he is waiting for Los Angeles District Attorney-elect Nathan Hochman’s determination. The Menendez brothers filed the clemency request in October, as polls suggested Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón would not win re-election.
Gascón, who also supported the clemency bid, initially announced plans to seek resentencing for the pair. In late October, Gascón said he would ask the court to have the parole ineligibility condition removed from their sentences and have them resentenced for murder. If successful, the pair would be sentenced to 50 years to life with parole. However, because they were younger than 26 when the murders occurred, he claimed they could be released on youthful parole.
READ: ‘They Have Paid Their Debt’: Prosecutor Recommends Resentencing Menendez Brothers
In 1989, Erik and Lyle Menendez, then 18 and 21, purchased two shotguns with cash and used them to kill their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez, at their Beverly Hills home. Investigators originally suspected the mafia was behind the slayings. However, a break in the case occurred in 1990 when Erik Menendez confessed to a therapist.
Evidence of Erik and Lyle Menendez’s father molesting them was presented at their first trial — which ended with a hung jury. However, those details were not as prominent during the second trial, resulting in their convictions.
Erik and Lyle Menendez have spent 34 years behind bars as they are ineligible for parole under their current sentence. A resentencing hearing is still scheduled for December 11, with a status hearing for November 25.
The Menedez brothers’ attorney told KTLA that he plans to ask for the murder conviction to be recalled in favor of voluntary manslaughter, a lesser charge.
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[Feature Photo: California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation via AP]
