A California judge is set to decide whether the Menendez brothers deserve reduced sentences

Attorney Mark Geragos speaks after a hearing regarding the case of Erik and Lyle Menendez Friday, April 11, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

LOS ANGELES — Erik and Lyle Menendez could learn this week whether they will get reduced sentences -- and the chance of freedom -- nearly 30 years after they were convicted of murdering their parents.

A Los Angeles judge will preside over the resentencing hearing that’s expected to last two days starting Thursday. The judge could rule during the hearing or issue a written decision later. If he shortens their sentences, the brothers would still need approval from the state’s parole board to leave prison.

The district attorney’s office filed a motion late Wednesday to delay the resentencing hearings so the court can obtain one aspect of the state parole board’s comprehensive risk assessments. California Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered the assessments in February and the brothers’ final risk assessment hearings are scheduled for June 13. Prosecutors said in their filing that one part of the risk assessment has already been completed.

The brothers were sentenced in 1996 to life in prison without the possibility of parole for murdering their entertainment executive father Jose Menendez and mother Kitty Menendez in their Beverly Hills home in 1989. The brothers were 18 and 21 at the time of the killings. While defence attorneys argued the brothers acted out of self-defence after years of sexual abuse by their father, prosecutors said the brothers killed their parents for a multimillion-dollar inheritance.

The case has captured the public’s attention for decades, and the Netflix drama " Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story " and documentary “The Menendez Brothers” have been credited with bringing new attention to the case. Supporters of the brothers have flown in from across the country to attend rallies and hearings in recent few months.

The resentencing hearing will center on whether the brothers have been rehabilitated in prison and deserve a lesser sentence of 50 years to life. That would make them eligible for parole under California’s youthful offender law because they committed the crime when they were younger than 26.

Former Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascon asked a judge last year to reduce the brothers’ sentences. He lost reelection to Nathan Hochman, who moved to withdraw the resentencing request and has argued the brothers have not taken full responsibility for their crimes.

A resentencing petition laid out by Gascon focuses on the brothers’ accomplishments and rehabilitation. The brothers’ attorneys say their clients have worked hard over the decades to better themselves and give back to the prison community. The extended Menendez family, with the exception of an uncle who died last month, has said they fully forgive the brothers for what they did and want them to be freed.

With Hochman in charge, prosecutors argued last Friday they could not support the brothers’ resentencing. Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic ruled the resentencing hearings could continue despite their opposition.

Prosecutors have said the brothers have not admitted to lies told during their trial about why they killed their parents, or that they asked their friends to lie for them in court. Hochman’s office has also said it does not believe that the brothers were sexually abused by their father and that by speaking about their childhood abuse, they have not taken complete responsibility for the crime.

Jaimie Ding, The Associated Press