() – Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón “strongly supports” Erik and Lyle Menéndez’s clemency request and wrote letters on behalf of each brother to California Governor Gavin Newsom, he announced Wednesday.
The cards, published by Gascón’s office, describe the 1989 murders by the Menéndez brothers of their parents, Kitty and José Menéndez, as well as “credible allegations” that Erik and Lyle were “victims of sexual and physical abuse at the hands of their father.”
The 34 years the brothers spent in custody and their “dedication to rehabilitation” make them “exemplary” candidates for clemency, Gascón wrote. The district attorney adds that his office has contacted several members of Kitty and Jose Menendez’s family and that all family members except one, Kitty Menendez’s brother, support the commutation.
contacted the brothers’ attorney, Mark Geragos, to confirm that a formal clemency request has been sent to the governor’s office.
Newsom’s office declined to comment on the case, saying “pending clemency requests are confidential and we cannot discuss individual cases.”
If the governor approves the request, the Menendez brothers could see their sentence — life in prison without the possibility of parole — reduced, or they could be released immediately.
“I strongly support clemency for Erik and Lyle Menéndez,” Gascón said in a release this Wednesday. “They turned 34 and continued their education and worked to create new programs to support the rehabilitation of their fellow inmates.”
Gascón’s announcement comes days after the district attorney filed a motion recommending that a judge change the brothers’ sentence: from life in prison without parole to life in prison with parole.
Under California law, the brothers would be immediately eligible for parole because they were 26 or younger when they committed their crimes.
A hearing on the resentencing request was scheduled for Dec. 11, according to a court official and Holly Baird, a spokeswoman for the brothers’ attorney, Mark Geragos.
“They were sentenced appropriately at the time they were tried,” Gascón said in a previous interview with . “I just think that given the current state of the law and our evaluation of their behavior in prison, they deserve the opportunity to be reevaluated and perhaps reintegrated into the community.”
Add Comment