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Attorney believes the Menendez brothers could be home by Thanksgiving

Attorney believes the Menendez brothers could be home by Thanksgiving

On Thursday, October 24, Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón recommended resentencing of Erik and Lyle Menendez, who murdered their parents in 1989 and were convicted of first-degree murder.

The brothers were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole; Gascón will ask that the brothers be sentenced to 50 years to life in prison with the possibility of parole. As “juvenile offenders” who were both under 26 when they killed their parents, they would be immediately eligible for parole.

The decision to approve Gascón's recommendation regarding the fate of Lyle, 56, and Erik, 53, now rests with a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge. No date has been set for the judge's consideration of Gascón's request for resentencing, but Nancy Theberge from Gascón's office said Thursday that the request could be submitted to the judge in 30 to 45 days. USA today Reports.

If a judge agrees with Gascón's recommendation, the matter would be referred to a parole board, which would assess whether the brothers have been rehabilitated.

But Mark Geragos, the brothers' post-conviction attorney, gave ABC a different timeline Good morning America that he hopes to have the brothers home by Thanksgiving and that he believes a hearing on their fate could take place “well before” 30 days.

Erik and Lyle Menendez in 1994.

Ted Soqui/Sygma/Getty


Lyle was 21 and Erik was 18 when they fatally shot their parents with 12-gauge shotguns in the den of their Beverly Hills, California, home on August 20, 1989.

Jose, the CEO of RCA Records, was hit several times, including directly in the head. Kitty, 47, was shot 15 times, including once in the face.

Jose and Kitty Menendez.

ABC


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The murders that are now the subject of the second season of Ryan Murphy's Netflix show Monsters: The Story of Lyle and Erik Menendezstarring Javier Bardem and Chloë Sevigny, as well as a Netflix documentary, made national headlines and spawned several documentaries.

According to the brothers, the murders came after years of sexual abuse by Jose – abuse that they claimed was ignored by their mother, a former beauty queen.

But prosecutors at the time said the two brothers' motive was greed, citing their lavish spending spree after the murders.

In 1996, three years after their first trial ended in deadlock, the siblings were convicted of the first-degree murders and subsequently sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

If you or someone you know is a victim of sexual abuse, text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.

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