Los Angeles County D.A. is Pushing to Recommend Resentencing for the Menendez Brothers

George Gascón, Los Angeles County D.A. involved in the infamous Menendez brothers case has come forward saying his push for resentencing is based on evidence. He has dismissed claims that he’s using the sympathy card to garner public attention for winning his election campaign. 

Defending his independent decision making, Gascón said that he and his team were mining facts that could impact the Menendez brothers’ case long before the Ryan Murphy show aired. 

The infamous case that took the U.S. by storm is scheduled for resentencing in December. Both Erik and Lyle Menendez could walk free after years of imprisonment if their attorney can prove their case of acting out in self defense against a predatory father. In that case, the charges against the two will be changed from murder to voluntary manslaughter. 

Since the two have already served more than three times the maximum sentencing for voluntary manslaughter, there’s a high chance that they will walk free this time. 

Besides the resentencing, there have been other updates in the case. The case has inspired a Netflix TV show titled Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story. Since then, popular true crime podcasters and content creators have also published shows that deep-dive into the intriguing story of the brothers and their father. 

Earlier this year, the brothers filed for clemency. If Governor Gavin Newsom approves the claim, they could walk out of jail earlier than their December 11 hearing. Even at the time of the clemency filing, the Los Angeles County DA had said that he “strongly” supported the clemency appeal. 

He said, “I strongly support clemency for Erik and Lyle Menendez … They have respectively served 34 years and have continued their educations and worked to create new programs to support the rehabilitation of fellow inmates.”

Meanwhile, Governor Newsom said “This is obviously some new compelling evidence that was introduced” in a podcast around the same time. The governor was referring to the letters written by Erik Menendez to a cousin that insinuated that he was being molested by his father shortly before the deaths occurred in the family. 

Governor Newsom is also well-known for granting clemency around Thanksgiving time and since the holiday season has begun, it’s not far-fetched to think that he may do so again with the Menendez brothers.