THE Los Angeles district attorney’s push to free the Menendez brothers from prison is a political ploy to help him get re-elected, his rival claims.
By the end of the year, Erik and Lyle Menendez could walk free from the life sentences they were handed in 1996 for shooting their parents, Kitty and Jose Menendez, to death.
Erik Menendez, left, and Lyle Menendez, right, on the steps of the Beverly Hills mansion where they shot their parents to death[/caption]
Erik, left, and Lyle, right, in their latest booking photos by the California Department of Corrections[/caption]
Nathan Hochman at a news conference in Los Angeles on September 30, 2024[/caption]
Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón announced last month that he would recommend the brothers be resentenced for their first-degree murder charges.
Gascón, the current district attorney of Los Angeles County, is known for his progressive approach to criminal justice reform since he was sworn into office in December 2020.
However, as Gascón is running for re-election in the general election on November 5, his opponent slammed his support for the Menendez brothers’ release.
LA County District Attorney candidate Nathan Hochman said in an appearance on NewsNation on Friday morning that Gascón’s move was “one of the more political ploys I’ve seen in a long time.”
Hochman said Gascón waited to speak out about the decision until it benefited him in the upcoming election.
“He could have acted eight to sixteen months before,” Hochman said.
“I guess the media was starting not to pay attention to him, so he thought he’d stir up the pot a little and bat a clemency request to the governor.”
The case has come back into the public eye after Ryan Murphy’s dramatized series Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, as well as a Netflix documentary.
During their murder trials, prosecutors argued that Lyle and Erik, 21 and 18 at the time of the killings, killed their parents in self-defense following years of sexual abuse by their dad.
Calls for the brothers to be released from prison have grown over the years as family members of the siblings held a press conference begging for their freedom last month – and Kim Kardashian has even spoken out in favor of the duo.
Support for the notorious pair has also increased since new pieces of evidence appearing to prove their dad’s abuse have come to light.
Roy Rosselló, a former member of the boy band Menudo, came forward with testimony in a Peacock docuseries alleging that Jose Menendez raped him in the 1980s.
Plus, a bombshell letter written by Erik months before the murders appeared to reference the alleged abuse by his dad – but the message was just uncovered within the last few years.
The letter, along with Rosselló’s account, was included in a habeas corpus petition filed with the LA Superior Court in May 2023.
Timeline of the Menendez brothers case
Erik and Lyle Menendez have been serving a life imprisonment sentence without the possibility of parole since July 1996.
The brothers were convicted of shooting their parents to death in their Beverly Hills home in August 1989.
Timeline:
August 20, 1989 – José and Kitty Menendez are found dead from multiple shotgun wounds.
March 8, 1990 – Lyle is arrested outside his parents’ Beverly Hills mansion.
March 11, 1990 – Erik turns himself in to police after flying back into Los Angeles from Israel.
July 20, 1993 – The highly publicized trial of Lyle and Erik begins and ends weeks later in a mistrial.
October 11, 1995 – Lyle and Erik’s second trial begins.
March 20, 1996 – The Menendez brothers are convicted of two counts of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder.
July 2, 1996 – Lyle and Erik are sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole and sent to separate prisons.
February 2018 – Lyle is transferred to the San Diego prison, where Erik is held.
April 4, 2018 – Lyle was moved into the same housing unit as Erik – the first time the brothers were reunited in over 20 years.
May 2023 – The attorney representing Lyle and Erik files a habeas petition after Roy Rosselló, a member of the Puerto Rican boy band Menudo, made sexual abuse allegations against Jose Menendez.
September 19, 2024 – Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story releases on Netflix.
October 3, 2024: Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón said his office was reviewing new evidence in connection with Lyle and Erik’s convictions.
October 7, 2024 – The Menendez Brothers documentary film comes out on Netflix.
October 16, 2024 – Family members of the Menendez brothers hold a press conference begging for the siblings to be released from prison.
October 24, 2024 – Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón recommends the brothers be resentenced.
The brothers also requested to be resentenced a year later in May 2024.
“I came to a place where I believe, under the law, resentencing is appropriate,” Gascón announced on October 24.
Hochman said the fact that Gascón waited months to announce his decision was for the sake of his possible re-election.
“Yet, he has waited until days before the November 5 election, 30 points down in the polls with articles coming about how his failed policies have led to additional murders of innocent people, to release his recommendation for resentencing,” Hochman said in a statement on October 24.
“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 just or just another desperate political move by a D.A. running a losing campaign scrambling to grab headlines through a made-for-TV decision.
“Angelenos and everyone involved deserve better.”
Erik Menendez’s letter to his cousin
A hand written letter Erik Menendez wrote to his cousin about his dad’s alleged abuse has sparked a review of the case that could set him and his brother free from jail.
Erik’s letter was written in December 1988, eight months before the double murders in August 1989.
The letter reads in full:
“I’ve been trying to avoid dad. It’s still happening, Andy, but it’s worse for me now. I can’t explain it. He so overweight that I can’t stand to see him.
“I never know when it’s going to happen and it’s driving me crazy. Every night I stay up thinking he might come in.
“I need to put it out of my mind. I know what you said before but I’m afraid. You just don’t know dad like I do. He’s crazy!
“He’s warned me a hundred times about telling anyone, especially Lyle.
“Am I a serious whimpus? I don’t know I’ll make it through this. I can handle it, Andy. I need to stop thinking about it.”
Hochman said that Gascón only responded to the case because of the media coverage.
The U.S. Sun has reached out to Gascón’s office for comment.
With the way the polls are looking so far, Hochman is likely to oust Gascón as the county DA next Tuesday.
The former federal prosecutor said if he’s elected, he’ll have to take time to review the evidence before deciding his opinion on the case.
The U.S. Sun has reached out to Hochman for further comment.
The court is expected to hear the brothers’ case for resentencing on November 26.
If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call RAINN (Rape, Abuse, & Incest National Network) at 800-656-HOPE (4673).
Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon at a campaign event in Los Angeles on October 26, 2024[/caption]
Nathan Hochman at a campaign event in Los Feliz on October 26, 2024[/caption]
Erik Menendez, left, and Lyle during a pre-trial hearing in December 1992 in Los Angeles[/caption]
