SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Erik and Lyle Menendez may soon learn if they have a chance at freedom.
The brothers, who murdered their parents, have a long-awaited resentencing hearing in Los Angeles Tuesday.
“Because both the brothers were under the age of 26 at the time that the crime occurred, 18 years old, 21 years old, they could be released immediately,” said Randy Grossman, a defense attorney and professor at Thomas Jefferson School of Law.
The brothers are serving life sentences without the possibility of parole for the grizzly 1989 murders of their parents.
They could be resentenced to life sentences with the chance of parole or Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic may choose to leave their sentences unchanged.
“We have to determine if they have rehabilitated,” Jesic said at the brothers’ resentencing hearing last month, which got postponed.
Erik and Lyle claimed their father sexually abused them and their mother didn’t stop the abuse.
They bought shotguns from a Big 5 store in San Diego with fake IDs to commit the murders in Beverly Hills, which stunned the nation.
Decades later, the case continues to attract international attention and several relatives of the brothers are publicly calling for their resentencing.
A recent Netflix series and drama has drummed up fresh support from strangers who want the brothers released from prison in San Diego.
“I think that they should be let go. I think they served their time,” said Christyn Crenshaw, who recently visited the old Menendez mansion in Beverly Hills that’s currently under construction.
Crenshaw lives in St. Louis Missouri and wanted to get an up-close look of the home while she was visiting Los Angeles.
“It kind of gives me the chills to think like I’m in this neighborhood exactly where they were and seeing the original door, the original mailbox.”
Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman opposes the brothers’ release from prison.
In court last month, the DA’s office reminded the judge of the carnage the brothers caused and urged Jesic to not rush his decision.
The judge said his purpose is not to relitigate the murders but rather to determine if the brothers have been rehabilitated.
“This is a really complicated situation. I’ve never had in my career victims supporting the defendants,” he said.
In March, Team 10 reported the Menendez brothers have each had two serious rule violations while at the Richard J Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego.
The brothers have also earned degrees and contributed as volunteers to numerous initiatives.
Their time behind bars is expected to come under the microscope at resentencing this week.
If they are resentenced, they would likely still need to appear before the Parole Board of California, which may have the final say on their future.
