(KTLA) — On Thursday, Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón announced his office supports the resentencing of Erik and Lyle Menendez, who were convicted of killing their parents more than three decades ago.
Lyle, then 21, and Erik, then 18, admitted they fatally shot their entertainment executive father, Jose Menendez, and their mother, Kitty Menendez. The brothers are now serving life sentences, although a recent television series and documentaries have alleged the boys’ father may have been sexually abusive, a potential mitigating factor that wasn’t considered in the trial.
The revelations and recent television series have sparked a renewed interest in the Menendez brothers, and recently, the brothers’ family came forward to ask that they be released from prison.
Among the new evidence is a letter purportedly written by Erik Menendez that reads in part: “I never know when [the abuse] is going to happen and it’s driving me crazy. Every night, I stay up thinking [my father] might come in.”
Another allegation against José Menendez has surfaced from a former member of the boy band Menudo. Roy Roselló claimed he was raped by Menendez while he was a record executive.
His allegations were detailed in the three-part documentary series, “Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed,” and the brothers themselves were subjects of a Netflix series, “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story,” which reignited public interest in the case.
Now 53 and 56, the men have spent the last three decades “on a journey of rehabilitation,” Gascón said.
“I believe they have paid their debt to society,” he added.
Not all Menendez family members support resentencing. Attorneys for Milton Andersen, the 90-year-old brother of Kitty Menendez, filed a legal brief asking the court to keep the brothers’ original punishment. “They shot their mother, Kitty, reloading to ensure her death,” Andersen’s attorneys said in a statement Thursday. “The evidence remains overwhelmingly clear: the jury’s verdict was just, and the punishment fits the heinous crime.”
The final decision as to whether they’ll be eligible for parole will be left up to a judge.
A hearing has not yet been scheduled, but the District Attorney’s Office plans to file a motion to request resentencing Friday morning.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.