The Menendez brothers are begging to be released from prison before Thanksgiving as their legal team comes up with a new strategy for freeing them.
Erik and Lyle Menendez’s attorney, Mark Geragos, is filing documents today asking California‘s Governor Gavin Newsom for clemency, reported TMZ.
According to the official website for Newsom, clemency can result in a reduced sentence or ‘pardon’, which provides a ‘relief from punishment’ and restores some civil rights for people who have been convicted of a crime.
Lyle and Erik Menendez were convicted of murdering their parents in 1996 in a trial that gripped and divided the nation
The brothers’ attorney Mark Geragos has said he will be filing for clemency for a reduced sentence or ‘pardon’ consideration
The brothers told the courts they were acting in self-defense after suffering lifelong sexual abuse at the hands of their father
‘We have dual-tracks. I am doing everything possible, I’ve said publicly, I want them home not just for Thanksgiving but for Joan’s 93rd and to celebrate with Aunt Terry as well,’ said Geragos referring to the sister of the brothers’ mother, Joan VanderMolen and sister of the brothers’ father, Terry Barait, reported US weekly.
Geragos also told TMZ that they are planning to ask the judge in their resentencing hearing to change the brothers’ conviction from murder to involuntary manslaughter.
Should this be granted, they would immediately be set free on account of time already served.
The brothers case was requested to be reopened in October 2024 due to public interest following the release of a Netflix series Monsters, and the documentary The Menendez Brothers
Joan VanderMolen, the sister to murder victim Kitty Menendez, will be celebrating her 93rd birthday soon and the Menendez brothers legal team hope to let the brothers celebrate with her out of prison
A new judge is also expected in the case, and the upcoming resentencing hearing is due to take place next month.
The Mendez brothers were sentenced to life in prison without parole in 1996 for the murder of their mother, Kitty Menendez, and their father, José Menendez.
The brothers told the courts during their trial that they had acted in self-defense after suffering lifelong sexual abuse at the hands of their father.
Their case was requested to be reopened on October 24 by Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascon on grounds of public interest following the release of the Netflix limited series Monsters, and the documentary The Menendez Brothers.
During his announcement, Gascon said: ‘They have been in prison for nearly 35 years. I believe that they have paid their debt to society.’
Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascon recommended the brothers be resentenced and their legal team are looking to change their conviction to involuntary manslaughter
Gascon said: ‘They have been in prison for nearly 35 years. I believe that they have paid their debt to society’
Many have expressed concern for the brothers’ release. Pop culture guru, Perez Hilton, worries that Erik and Lyle will be treated similar to Gypsy Rose Blanchard upon her recent release.
The columnist, blogger and social media personality said ‘a lot of people will turn on’ them, and ‘they will be under a microscope after their release’, he told Fox News.
He also warned of how bombarded they may become over social media, and how many may scrutinize any money making opportunities that could arise from their attention.
However, stars such as Kim Kardashian have celebrated the potential release of the brothers. The 44-year-old took to Instagram only last week to say the brothers were ‘granted a second chance’ and praised Gascon for ‘righting a significant wrong’.