Brothers Erik and Lyle Menendez long-awaited resentencing hearing stalled over state’s risk assessment report
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By Elizabeth Wolfe and Matthew J. Friedman, CNN
Los Angeles (CNN) — A hearing that could give brothers Erik and Lyle Menendez their first chance at freedom in more than three decades hit a snag Thursday amid disagreements over a Los Angeles court’s access to “comprehensive risk assessments” conducted by a parole board.
The long-awaited hearing for the Menendez brothers, jailed for life for the 1989 murders of their parents in Beverly Hills, was continued until May 9. The defense and prosecution sparred over whether the court should consider the risk assessments as it determines if the brothers are eligible for a lesser sentence and a path to parole. A report on each brother was recently conducted by a forensic psychologist as part of the parole board’s clemency investigation, which was requested by Governor Gavin Newsom.
Defense attorney Mark Geragos, who argued for the parole board assessments to be kept out of the hearing, vowed to file a recusal motion with the court and the attorney general “to have the district attorney thrown off this case.” He told the court told “the family is very upset but they are willing to put their lives on hold for a little bit longer.”
Prosecutor Habib Balian earlier Thursday called the report an essential piece of the puzzle needed to make a decision on the matter.
Appearing frustrated, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic called for a recess to get clarification from state officials.
“We must flush this out,” the judge said.
Jesic added, “I want to see these reports.”
Thursday afternoon both parties said the governor’s office told them it was not asserting executive privilege and will make the risk assessments available to the defense, the prosecution and the court.
On May 9, the court will consider the admissibility of the risk assessments. The reports will remained sealed as both sides make arguments about whether some parts will be redacted.
Judge Jesic also said any motion the defense makes for the District Attorney’s recusal will also be addressed at that time.
The two-day hearing this week was to determine whether the siblings’ sentence of life without eligibility for parole may be revised to grant them the possibility of being released.
The judge’s decision would have monumental implications for the army of attorneys, family members and online supporters who have in recent years launched a renewed campaign for Erik and Lyle’s freedom, fueled in part by a wave of attention brought by a docuseries and fictionalized Netflix drama recounting the case.
Since 2023, Erik and Lyle have been pursuing a three-part legal effort to secure their release: the resentencing bid, a request for clemency from California Gov. Gavin Newsom and a call for a new trial based on claims of fresh evidence.
Though a new trial would only focus on the facts of the siblings’ crime, the resentencing decision allows the judge to consider other factors, including their rehabilitative efforts.
Dozens of Menendez relatives say Erik and Lyle have demonstrated years of remorse and rehabilitation since they shot and killed their parents, Kitty and José Menendez, in their manicured family mansion. They also argue the severity of the sentence should be revisited due to a deepened cultural understanding of childhood sexual abuse since the murders, which the brothers have long maintained were carried out in self-defense after years of abuse at the hands of their father.
But while the brothers’ case was championed by the former Los Angeles County district attorney, his successor, Nathan Hochman, has taken a more hardline stance against their release, threatening to overturn their powerful momentum.
Hochman has said he would oppose the brothers’ request for a new trial and attempted to withdraw the former DA’s motion in support of their resentencing – a move that was rejected by a judge last week.
Hours before Thursday’s hearing, Hochman’s team filed a motion of continuance to delay the proceeding, saying “comprehensive risk assessments” of the brothers that were conducted by the parole board were now complete and the court needs time to review them.
“The People believe that the Court should have all available information before making this important decision. To the extent the Court needs additional time to obtain these documents from the Governor’s office, the People request a continuance as necessary,” the motion filed Wednesday said.
The district attorney has called the brothers’ self-defense claim “fabricated,” instead arguing that the brutal crimes were premeditated and casting doubt on the truthfulness of their sexual abuse allegations. Hochman has called on Erik and Lyle to admit they have “lied to everyone for the past 30 years.”
Anamaria Baralt, a cousin of the brothers who has led the family’s release efforts, said she cannot imagine Erik or Lyle reversing their years-long defense at Hochman’s command.
“There is no part of me that thinks that Lyle and Erik are going to capitulate to his demands,” Baralt told CNN last month. “That would be a slap in the face to every survivor that they have stood up for in their lives.”
The brothers’ attorneys are expected to call forward a lineup of past prosecutors, former inmates and corrections personnel and possibly family members to testify on behalf of Erik and Lyle’s rehabilitation efforts in prison.
On Thursday, the judge confirmed with Geragos and family attorney Brian Friedman that relatives agreed not to testify because they don’t want to be “re-traumatized.”
If the judge grants Erik and Lyle the revised sentence, a parole board will review their case and could recommend them for parole. The decision will go to Newsom’s desk, where he will have 120 days to grant, reverse or modify the decision.
Though the family is desperate for Erik and Lyle’s release, Baralt also worries the men, now middle aged, may be frozen in the public eye as the sweater-clad young men who took the witness stand in the 90s, portrayed by prosecutors and media as arrogant, self-assured heirs to their parents’ $14 million estate.
If released, the brothers would reintegrate into society as men in their 50s who have spent the majority of their adult lives navigating prison.
“They have a lot of supporters in the world, but not everyone is a supporter,” Baralt said. “They have not lived outside of prison in the age of social media that can be unforgiving and brutal, and that concerns me a lot. … I am hopeful that they will find their way.”
Brothers pursing several paths to freedom
Even if the resentencing bid is denied, Erik and Lyle’s fight for release will be far from over. The brothers are seeking two other paths to release: a new trial and clemency.
Gov. Newsom has the power to commute the brothers’ sentences, which would immediately free them from prison. The governor has so far refrained from making a decision but has asked the state Board of Parole Hearings to investigate whether the pair would pose an “unreasonable risk” to the public if they were released.
The parole board is expected to have a hearing on June 13 with the brothers and will then share its recommendation with Newsom.
The brothers’ attorneys have also filed a request for a new trial, known as a habeas petition. Their attorneys claim new evidence of sexual abuse by the siblings’ father has arisen since their trials in the 1990s, including a 1988 letter from Erik Menendez to a relative referencing the alleged abuse.
During their trials, the brothers admitted responsibility for the killings of their parents, but argued they should not be convicted of premeditated murder. In their first trial, which featured separate juries for each brother, Erik and Lyle testified they had endured a lifetime of physical and sexual abuse by their father and believed their mother was aware and chose to do nothing. Their lawyers argued the pair killed their parents because they feared for their lives.
The first trial ended in with a deadlocked jury for each man, leading to a second trial in which the judge barred most of the sexual abuse evidence. Both brothers were convicted of murder and sentenced to life without parole. If the evidence of abuse had been allowed to be presented in the second trial, their attorneys have argued, the brothers would have been convicted of manslaughter instead of first-degree murder.
The decision ultimately lies with a judge, but Hochman has urged the court to reject their request, saying abuse does not amount to a self-defense claim.
“Sexual abuse is abhorrent, and we will prosecute sexual abuse in any form it comes,” he said. “But sexual abuse in this situation, while it may have been a motivation for Erik and Lyle to do what they did, does not constitute self-defense.”
The Menendez family has expressed disgust at Hochman’s stance, calling it “outdated” and “harmful.”
Family points to meaningful lives built in prison
Several relatives of Erik and Lyle have stuck by their side even through the frenzied trials of the 1990s, following them from county jail to maximum security prisons and, finally, to an innovative corrections facility in San Diego where they are housed today.
Separated for decades, Erik and Lyle were reunited in 2018 at RJ Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego, where inmates are encouraged to create and lead programs for other prisoners. There, the brothers have founded several initiatives, including support groups for disabled and elderly inmates, meditation classes and workshops on alternatives to violence.
Lyle has also co-founded the Green Space Project, a massive prison yard beautification effort which has raised more than $250,000 to install trees, grass and outdoor community gathering spaces. The project aims to reduce recidivism, in part by “normalizing” the prison environment and making it more closely resemble the outside world that inmates will transition into once they are released.
Baralt pointed out that most of these programs were founded years before release was an option for the brothers.
“Release was never on the table, and they did it anyway, which is really stunning to me,” Baralt said. “It was a desire to make their lives worth something, and they’ve succeeded. As far as I’m concerned, they are living full lives, really full lives, full of purpose and meaning.”
If released, the Erik and Lyle have said they would continue their advocacy for prison rehabilitation and childhood abuse survivors, Baralt said.
CNN’s Ray Sanchez contributed to this report.
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