🔴 Website 👉 https://u-s-news.com/
Telegram 👉 https://t.me/usnewscom_channel
OAN Staff Abril Elfi
6:34 PM – Tuesday, May 13, 2025
A Los Angeles judge has resentenced the Menendez brothers to 50 years to life in prison for the 1989 murders of their parents, revisiting the high-profile case that has captivated the public for decades.
Advertisement
On Tuesday, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic reduced Erik and Lyle Menendez’s sentences from life without parole to 50 years to life.
After resentencing the brothers, Judge Jesic said he had given the matter “long thought,” admitting that they committed a “absolutely horrific crime, and there’s no way around it.” However, he said he was moved by the brothers’ actions behind jail.
“Life without parole gives an inmate no hope, no reason to do anything good. And I give them a lot of credit. It’s remarkable what they did when they had no hope of getting out,” Jesic said.
The brothers had admitted to killing their parents, Kitty and Jose Menendez. Nonetheless, they claimed that it was done in self-defense after years of abuse.
“I killed my mom and dad. I make no excuses and also no justification,” Lyle said in a statement to the court. “The impact of my violent actions on my family … is unfathomable.”
Prosecutors had argued that the pair should not be released, claiming that they had planned the shotgun killings in order to access their parents’ fortune.
During Tuesday’s hearing, the brothers gave an emotional statement via video.
The brothers’ cousin, Anamaria Baralt, who has been close with them since they were children, told the judge they deserved a “second chance at life”.
“It’s been a nightmare,” she said. “I am desperate for this process to be over.”
The trial resurfaced in May 2023, when the brothers’ attorneys filed a Habeas Corpus petition in Los Angeles County Superior Court, requesting a fresh trial based on new evidence.
The new evidence included a letter by Erik, written eight months before the killings, which mentions the alleged molestation, as well as Roy Rosselló’s claims that José drugged and raped him in the 1980s.
By October 2024, the brothers obtained the support of then-Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón, who formally urged that they be resentenced to 50 years to life, putting them immediately eligible for parole. However, Gascón lost the November election to Hochman, who later reversed his resentencing recommendation.
Stay informed! Receive breaking news blasts directly to your inbox for free. Subscribe here. https://www.oann.com/alerts