Judge rules Menendez brothers’ bid for freedom through resentencing can continue

Lyle, left, and Erik Menendez appear in court for a preliminary hearing held in Beverly Hills, Calif., April 12, 1991. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian)

LOS ANGELES — Erik and Lyle Menendez’s resentencing hearings can continue despite opposition from the Los Angeles County district attorney, a judge ruled Friday.

Former Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón asked a judge last year to change the brothers’ sentence from life without the possibility of parole to 50 years to life. That would made them immediately eligible for parole because they committed the crime when they were younger than 26.

But Gascón’s successor reversed course. Nathan Hochman submitted a motion last month to withdraw the resentencing request.

In light of Hochman’s opposition to resentencing, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic ruled that the court can move forward with the hearing. “Everything you argued today is absolutely fair game for the resentencing hearing next Thursday,” he said.

Hochman’s office said they could not support the brothers’ resentencing because they had not admitted to lies told during their trial about why they killed their parents and did not “fully recognize, acknowledge, and accept complete responsibility” for their crime.

The brothers appeared in court over Zoom but hadn’t made any public statements through the first few hours of Friday’s proceeding.

They were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole at ages 18 and 21 after being convicted of murdering their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez, in their Beverly Hills home in 1989.

While the defense argued they acted out of self-defense after years of sexual abuse by their father, prosecutors said the brothers killed their parents for a multimillion-dollar inheritance.

Deputy district attorney Habib Balian said Friday that the key issue with Gascón’s resentencing petition was that it did not fully address rehabilitation and missed key elements of the original crime committed.

“What does it mean? To learn from your mistakes and truly understand that you were wrong,” Balian said.

Balian presented evidence and video clips of the brothers’ testimony from the first trial to demonstrate instances where they “hunkered down in their bunker of deceit, lies, and deception.”

He said the brothers killed their parents out of greed when they learned they would be taken out of the will, citing psychiatrist’s notes that he said showed “this was not self-defense.”

The brothers’ attorney, Mark Geragos, called the presentation a “dog and pony show” and said it was “nothing more than political cover” as a result of Hochman defeating Gascón in the district attorney’s race.

“They have authorized the denial of sexual abuse,” Geragos said of the prosecution’s presentation.

Geragos argued the judge had full authority to proceed with resentencing under a California law passed in 2023 that allows a court to recall a sentence and initiate resentencing at any point in time.

Geragos also objected to Balian including a photo of the deceased and bloody Menendez parents in his presentation, which he said “retraumatized” family members and victims. The brothers’ cousin Anamaria Baralt and aunt Terry Baralt were among the family members who were in the courtroom.

The family’s relationship with Hochman has soured. Most of the brothers’ extended family supports their resentencing.

Tamara Goodall, a cousin of the brothers, submitted a complaint with the state asking that Hochman be removed from the case, citing his bias against the brothers and alleging he violated a law meant to protect victims’ rights.

Hochman had a “hostile, dismissive and patronizing tone” in meetings with the family and created an “intimidating and bullying atmosphere,” Goodall wrote.

In their response to the district attorney’s motion to withdraw the resentencing request, attorneys for the Menendez brothers questioned whether Hochman had legitimate reasons for doing so or was influenced by “a change of political winds.”

The attorneys pointed out that Hochman demoted Nancy Theberge and Brock Lunsford, the two deputy district attorneys who filed the original resentencing motion. Theberge and Lunsford have since filed lawsuits against Hochman alleging harassment, discrimination and retaliation for their work on the Menendez brothers case.

“The law requires fairness, not personal vendettas,” Anamaria Baralt, a cousin of the brothers, said in a statement.

Without resentencing, the brothers would still have two other pathways to freedom. They have submitted a clemency plea to California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has ordered the state parole board to investigate whether the brothers would pose a risk to the public if they are released. The parole board is scheduled to hold its final hearings June 13.

The brothers also submitted a petition for habeas corpus in May 2023 asking the court to grant them a new trial in light of new evidence presented. Hochman’s office also filed a motion opposing the petition.