The Menendez brothers have been resentenced and they’re now one step closer to freedom
Following a long-awaited trial, a Los Angeles judge has now ruled that Lyle and Erik Menendez can be resentenced for the 1989 murder of their parents.
The brothers have remained behind bars for 35 years, after being found guilty in 1996 after they shot their parents Kitty and Jose Menendez seven years earlier.
Lyle and Erik shot their mother and father at close range after allegedly being subjected to extreme physical, sexual, and verbal abuse - especially at the hands of 'perfectionist' Jose - since they were children.
Though they initially evaded blame, pinning the gruesome crime on the mafia, the Menendez brothers were eventually apprehended by police and forced to stand trial in a televised court case that would hit headlines across the globe.
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Despite insisting they acted out of self-defence in fear of the harm their father planned to inflict upon them, a second trial caused by an initial hung jury discounted their abuse allegations.
The pair were handed life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.
Why was there a resentencing hearing?
Though many true-crime fans had followed the case of the Beverly Hills brothers for some time, the case somewhat re-emerged in popular culture last year, after Erik and Lyle were made the stars of Ryan Murphy's true-crime Netflix drama Monsters.
Portrayed by Nicholas Alexander Chavez and Cooper Koch, Erik and Lyle got a secondary wave of attention, despite the top-rated series being branded 'inaccurate' by the brothers from jail.
And after amassing a cult following of fans that argued if their case went to trial today, their punishment would have been different, Los Angeles prosecutors finally agreed to a resentencing hearing.
The agreement was made on the grounds of two new pieces of evidence supporting the brothers' abuse claims - one being an allegation made by musician Roy Rossello, who has claimed he was drugged and raped by Jose Menendez at their Los Angeles property, aged 14.
Also mentioned in the court filing was the emergence of a letter Erik had written to his cousin eight months before the murders, documenting the sexual abuse he'd endured at the hands of his father. The letter had been discovered by Jose's sister Marta Cano at the time.
Members of the Menendez family began speaking out in support once again when the hearing was announced. This included Lyle and Erik's elderly aunt Terry Beralt (Jose's remaining sister), who begged for her nephews to be released before she passes away.
The appearance in court was pushed back a number of times, before finally taking place.
What does the new Menendez ruling mean?
Judge Michael Jesic has now resentenced the brothers to 50 years to life for killing their parents, bringing Lyle and Erik one step closer to freedom.
While the ruling means the pair will now be eligible for parole, a further decision on their potential release from jail will be made next month by the state parole board during another hearing.
Following the latest ruling, Lyle and Erik made emotional statements to the court.
What have Erik and Lyle said about their resentencing?
Erik began: "I had to stop being selfish and immature to really understand what my parents went through in those last moments."
He also described the 'shock, confusion and betrayal' that Kitty and José must have felt seeing guns pointed at them by their own children.
Lyle went on to apologise for the 'unfathomable' impact that their crimes must have had on the rest of their family, adding: "I lied to you and forced you into a spotlight of public humiliation."
The pair continued to apologise for their crime and vowed to use their potential release to continue working with victims of sexual abuse.
Prior to the latest news, Los Angeles County District Attorney, George Gascón, publicly admitted of Lyle and Erik: "I believe they have paid their debt to society."
Topics: Crime, Menendez Brothers, US News, True Crime, News
Rhianna Benson