Menendez brothers’ family pens new letter that ‘could free them immediately’ as star witnesses in re-sentencing revealed
THE Menendez brothers could be freed immediately thanks to a convincing new letter penned by their family.
Erik and Lyle Menendez are going before a judge on December 11 to learn if they’ll be resentenced for shooting their parents, Kitty and Jose Menendez, to death in 1989.
The duo’s lawyer, Mark Geragos, is pulling out all the stops to get the brothers out of prison after serving 30 years of their life sentences for the crimes.
In legal documents filed to support his case, Geragos included a letter supporting Erik and Lyle’s release from dozens of relatives of Jose and Kitty.
In the document obtained by TMZ, the family members say the brothers’ freedom would allow the family to heal from the shotgun murders.
The defense lawyer plans to use the letter, plus testimony from six new key witnesses, to petition the judge for a new conviction.
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Throughout their trial, Erik and Lyle argued that they killed their parents in self-defense following years of abuse from their dad.
Prosecutors in court argued they committed the murders out of greed for the family’s fortune.
California judges have the power to recall the brothers’ murder sentence and reduce it to manslaughter charges.
If the charges are reduced to manslaughter, the pair could get “time served,” meaning they would be released from prison immediately.
“It has been 34 years since the tragic events that deeply affected our
family,” the letter from the family says in part.
“Time has provided perspective, and recent developments have presented new evidence that calls for a reevaluation of both the conviction and sentencing meted out to Lyle and Erik
Menendez.
Menendez family says brothers were only ‘trying to survive’ when they killed parents in emotional new plea for their freedom
“We, as representatives of the victims’ families, firmly believe in their remorse, robust display of maturity and Introspection over the decades.”
Geragos is calling six witnesses who all work for the California Department of Corrections to the stand next month, TMZ reported.
The witnesses include two correctional officers, a prison guard, an education officer, a correctional lieutenant, and another employee from the department.
The outlet reports the prison staffers will testify about the brothers’ rehabilitation and say that they’ve been model prisoners.
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.
December 11, 2024 – The Menendez brothers are set to go before a judge in a scheduled hearing.
The witnesses will likely bring up the prison beautification program created by the brothers at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility near San Diego, California.
Lyle started the Green Space Project program in 2018 to transform the prison yard.
Erik serves in the program on the prison muralist team.
If the judge doesn’t change the brothers’ convictions, he could also resentence them, leaving it up to a parole board if they’ll walk free.
RESENTENCING DECISION
The push for the siblings to be released from prison was brought forward last month by the incumbent Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón
Gascón, a Democrat who was sworn into office in December 2020, has a track record for his progressive approach to criminal justice reform.
At a bombshell press conference, he said the brothers served their time for their crimes.
He recommended they be resentenced based on the family’s wishes, made clear in a recent emotional press conference, as well as new evidence.
The new evidence included a letter resurfaced in recent years written by Erik months before the brothers murdered their parents.
The letter showed Erik appearing to confide in his cousin about sexual abuse by his dad.
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.”
New findings also include testimony from Roy Rosselló, a former member of the boy band Menudo, who alleged he was raped by Jose Menendez when he was just a teenager.
However, the brothers’ chance at freedom could also be in jeopardy.
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After recommending the duo for resentencing, Gascón was ousted from office by Independent Nathan Hochman, who blasted his move as a “political ploy” ahead of the election.
Hochman said he’ll need to review the mountains of evidence in the highly publicized case before sharing his opinion.
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).
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