Although Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón has announced his recommendation that Erik and Lyle Menendez become resentful and immediately eligible for parolewould require several steps that could take months, if not longer, for their actual release.

The brothers were convicted of the 1989 murders of their parents in their family mansion in Beverly Hills.

Gascón cited new evidence of alleged sexual abuse by their father in reaching the recommendation, a decision he said was made shortly before he spoke to reporters at a news conference on Thursday, October 24.

It will first be up to a judge to decide whether to acquit the Menendez brothers, but it was not immediately clear when a hearing on that might be held.

If a judge were to decide to refile, a state parole board would have to set the date they would become eligible for a parole hearing, with that hearing no less than six months “in accordance with the provisions on termination and other mandates,” Pedro said Calderon Michel, deputy press secretary for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

Gascón said Thursday that because of their age at the time of the crime, they would automatically be eligible for parole.

Finally, should a parole board approve the brothers’ release, Gov. Gavin Newsom could reject the board’s decision.

Erik Menendez, now 53, and Lyle Menendez, now 56, have been in state prison since 1996 after being convicted in Los Angeles Superior Court of two counts of murder and conspiracy to commit a felony in the murders of Jose and Mary Louise “Kitty “Menendez.

They were 18 and 21 years old at the time of the murders.

While Gascón made the recommendation for re-sentencing, he acknowledged Thursday that there were dissenters within his office and anticipated that some of them may appear in court to argue the recommendation, saying “they have the right to .”

Gascón is in the midst of a re-election bid and the timing of his decision has raised questions for some, including his opponent, Nathan Hochman.

“By releasing it now, Gascon has cast a cloud over the fairness and impartiality of his decision, allowing Angelenos to question whether the decision was correct and fair or just another desperate political move by a DA running a losing campaign to grab headlines through a made-for-TV decision, Hochman said in a statement after Gascon’s announcement. “Angelenos and everyone involved deserve better.”

The case received renewed public interest after the release of two documentaries, including one from Netflix, “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.”

Prosecutors said the killings were financially motivated, and the brothers went on a lavish spending spree after the murders.

The brothers never denied committing the murders, but claimed they were repeatedly sexually abused by their father and feared for their lives.

A first trial ended with jurors unable to reach verdicts. They were convicted after a second trial in 1995 that lacked much of the testimony surrounding the sexual abuse allegations.