LOS ANGELES — More than three decades after Lyle and Erik Menendez convicted of their parents’ murders and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, the brothers now see a path to their potential release.

Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón on Friday will recommend that a judge turn against the siblings — a decision that was the culmination of a review that came after defense attorneys in 2023 said they had new evidence pointing to abuse by their father.

“I will never condone murder, and these were brutal, premeditated murders,” Gascón told CNN Thursday. “They were sentenced appropriately at the time they were tried. They got life without the possibility of parole. I just think that given the current state of the law and given our assessment of their behavior in prison, they deserve the opportunity to be re-evaluated and perhaps reintegrated into society.”

A hearing on the case could be held within 30 to 45 days, when a Los Angeles Superior Court judge will ultimately decide whether the brothers will be dismissed. Gascón said he supports the brothers’ pleas to life with the possibility of parole — which would normally mean 50 years to life in prison. But because the crimes occurred when the brothers were under 26 years old, they would be eligible for juvenile parole under California law.

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Calling the brothers “model prisoners,” Gascón told CNN he believes there is a good chance they would be paroled if the decision reaches the parole board. An attorney for one of the brothers said he hopes they will be home by Thanksgiving.

The retrial of the case comes more than 35 years after the 1989 shooting deaths of Jose and Kitty Menendez in their Beverly Hills mansion. Their sons, who were 21 and 18 at the time, were arrested less than a year later, in 1990, and convicted of first-degree murder in 1996.

At the two high-profile trials, the brothers did not deny killing their parents, but argued they should not be convicted because they acted in self-defense after enduring a lifetime of physical and sexual abuse by their father. The first trial – one of the first cases to be televised – ended in a mistrial after jurors deadlocked on the charges. In their second trial, much of the defense’s evidence of sexual abuse was excluded, and the brothers were found guilty in 1996 and sentenced to life in prison.

Several factors ultimately led to the recommendation for resentencing, but whether the brothers – now in their 50s – could be released from prison remains uncertain. Here’s what led to the decision and what might happen next:

What led to the DA’s decision

While Gascón believes Lyle and Erik Menendez were appropriately convicted at trial more than three decades ago, they deserve a chance to be reevaluated, he told CNN’s Stephanie Elam Thursday. Gascón said he believes the brothers had been sexually assaulted before the murders and have served enough time behind bars.

Gascón’s decision was made just an hour before he made the announcement Thursday because there were very different opinions on the case within his office, he told CNN. Several factors went into the decision to recommend charges, including that several family members “made it very clear that not only may there have been sexual abuse, but they say this is a very dysfunctional, very abusive home, and it was like that for many year,” said Gascón.

“I think they’ve served enough time,” he said.

Gascón’s reconsideration of the case came after lawyers for the Menendez brothers filed a habeas corpus petition in 2023, citing what they claim is new evidence, as well as a recent California prosecution law that allows the court to take into account convictions in comparable cases.

Among the new evidence the 2023 petition asked a court to consider: a sworn statement by former Menudo boy band member Roy Rosselló, who alleged that Jose Menendez sexually assaulted him in the 1980s. The lawyers also said a letter Erik Menendez wrote to a cousin months before the murders alludes to the abuse he endured.

Gascón, who is running for re-election next month on a platform that includes sentencing reform, told CNN that times have changed when it comes to how the public and the courts treat victims of sexual assault.

The district attorney’s office also considered the brothers’ behavior while in prison, and they have “shown enormous efforts to rehabilitate,” Gascón said.

“They’ve been role models by all accounts. Not only have they worked on their own self-improvement, but they’ve done a lot of work to improve the lives of those around them, which that part is unusual,” Gascón told CNN. suggesting that the men created groups to address how to deal with untreated trauma and help inmates with physical disabilities.

Citing their behavior over the past three decades in prison, Gascón said he believes there is a strong possibility the brothers will be paroled.

“What they did was terrible. They considered the murder of their parents and killed them. But I think they are different people today, and we base our opinion on the behavior of the last 35 years,” Gascón said.

However, the decision on whether the brothers should be placed on probation will ultimately rest with probation if the court agrees with the prosecutor’s office on charges, according to the prosecutor.

Asked about mounting criticism from opponents who suggested the Menendez brothers’ retrial was a political move, Gascón said, “There’s nothing political about this,” adding that more than 300 cursings have happened in the county since he took office in December 2020, including 28 for murder.

Lawyers hope they will be released by Thanksgiving

Thursday’s decision provided a ray of hope for the brothers’ lawyers and family, who said they expect the men to soon be reunited with loved ones and living a life outside prison.

“I think by Thanksgiving they will be home,” one of the brothers’ attorneys, Mark Geragos, said Thursday.

“We are grateful that the district attorney recognized not only the extraordinary efforts that Erik and Lyle have made while in prison, but also the role that sexual abuse played in their actions,” another attorney, Cliff Gardner, told CNN.

The request for prosecution will be filed on Friday with accompanying exhibits supporting Gascón’s recommendation, said Nancy Theberge, deputy head of Gascón’s prosecution unit.

Then her unit will coordinate with the defense and court staff to set a date for the next proceeding, she said. Once a hearing date is set, the defense can decide whether to have the brothers physically in the courtroom or appear via video or conference call. All arguments and evidence will be accepted at that time. The judge will make a decision based on what is presented, Theberge said.

“We’re just starting the process,” she said.

Aside from the resentencing recommendation, the habeas corpus petition filed last year is scheduled to be heard in November. The defense asked the court to either vacate the brothers’ conviction and sentence, or allow discovery and an evidentiary hearing during which they can provide evidence, the petition said.

But if the defense team agrees to the prosecutor’s plea request, they can withdraw that motion — which would also be moot if the court agrees to a plea, Gascón told CNN Thursday.

“I don’t agree with the habeas argument. I think the sentence was appropriate given what was there,” Gascón told CNN. “But I certainly think it’s an appropriate vehicle for them to have some opportunity for relief.”

“A day filled with hope for our family”

The brothers’ story has received renewed interest following the release in September of the Netflix series, “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story,” created by Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan. Netflix also released a documentary on the Menendez case this month in which both men discussed what led to the murders.

Nery Ynclan, executive producer of the docuseries “Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed,” said it was a “miraculous day for the Menendez brothers.”

“They had exhausted their appeals so many years ago. There was no chance for them to ever even hope for freedom and only new compelling evidence could possibly be brought forward to give them a chance,” Ynclan told CNN’s Laura Coates Thursday evening.

Celebrity and criminal justice reform advocate Kim Kardashian, who has been vocal about her support for the brothers, thanked Gascón for “righting a significant wrong.”

“Your commitment to truth and justice is commendable,” she wrote in a statement posted on Instagram Stories. “This case highlights the importance of challenging decisions and seeking the truth, even when guilt is not in question.”

Anamaria Baralt, Jose Menendez’s niece, called Gascón’s decision “courageous and necessary.”

“Today is a day filled with hope for our family,” she said Thursday. “Together we can make sure Erik and Lyle get the justice they deserve and finally come home.”

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