VAN NUYS (CNS) — Attorneys for Erik and Lyle Menendez today withdrew their motion asking that the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office be removed from the brothers' case, saying they want to expeditiously move forward with their bid to have the pair re-sentenced and possibly be released from prison.
The brothers are serving life prison terms without the possibility of parole for the 1989 shotgun killings of their parents in the family's Beverly Hills mansion. Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic scheduled the hearing on the defense re-sentencing motion to be held Tuesday and Wednesday of next week.
Defense attorneys for Erik Menendez, 54, and his older brother, Lyle, now 57, had contended in a recent court filing that ``absent recusal (of the District Attorney's Office), a conflict of interest would render it likely that the defendants will receive neither a fair hearing nor fair treatment through
all related proceedings.''
In a court filing this week, Assistant Head Deputy Habib Balian and Deputy District Attorneys Seth Carmack and Ethan Milius countered, ``In this case, there is absolutely no evidence or articulable explanation for any impermissible bias, let alone a conflict of interest.''
But in court Friday, the brothers' defense team dropped its bid to have the D.A.'s office removed from the case, saying they did not want any more delays in a re-sentencing hearing. Jesic then promptly said that the hearing will be held next week.
District Attorney Nathan Hochman personally appeared in the Van Nuys courtroom for the hearing, and he again asked Jesic to withdraw an earlier motion that was filed under previous D.A. George Gascón's administration in support of a re-sentencing for the brothers. Jesic again denied that request. Hochman opposes re-sentencing for the brothers, arguing they have not ``accepted complete responsibility for their actions.''
The brothers are serving life prison sentences without the possibility of parole for the Aug. 20, 1989, shotgun killings of their parents, Jose and Mary Louise "Kitty'' Menendez. The Menendez brothers claim the killings were committed after years of abuse, including alleged sexual abuse by their father.
In a 2023 court petition, attorneys for the brothers pointed to two new pieces of evidence they contend corroborate the brothers' allegations of long-term sexual abuse at the hands of their father -- a letter allegedly written by Erik Menendez to his cousin Andy Cano in early 1989 or late 1988, and recent allegations by Roy Rosselló, a former member of the Puerto Rican boy band Menudo, that he too was sexually abused by Jose Menendez as a teenager.
Defense attorneys are hoping to win a reduced sentence for the brothers, possibly allowing them to either be released immediately or at least be eligible for parole consideration.
Meanwhile, state parole boards are set to conduct separate hearings on June 13 for the brothers, then send their reports to Gov. Gavin Newsom to help him decide whether the two should receive clemency. Interest in the Menendez case surged following the release of a recent Netflix documentary and dramatic series.
The governor said that, except brief clips on social media, he has not watched dramatizations of the Menendez case or documentaries on it "because I don't want to be influenced by them.''
"I just want to be influenced by the facts,'' Newsom said.
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