What’s next for the Menendez brothers? A look at their lives in prison and three paths to freedom

LOS ANGELES — Lyle and Erik Menendez can become free men after spending decades behind bars for killing their parents.

Here’s a look at the infamous brothers’ prison life and three paths to potential freedom:

The case

Lyle Menendez, then 21, and Erik Menendez, then 18, admitted that in 1989 they bought shotguns and fired 16 rounds at Jose and Kitty Menendez at the family’s Beverly Hills home.

Prosecutors claimed they killed their wealthy parents for money, but the defense argued they acted in self-defense after enduring years of sexual abuse at the hands of their father.

The first trial, which had separate juries for each brother, ended in a mistrial. In 1996, after the second trial – in which the judge rejected much of the evidence of sexual abuse – Lyle and Erik Menendez were convicted and both sentenced to two consecutive terms of life without parole.

Life in prison

Nery Ynclan, a freelance producer for ABC News and executive producer of “Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed,” has visited Lyle Menendez several times at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego.

She emphasized that Lyle and Erik Menendez spent decades in prison rehabilitating themselves and helping other inmates.

“(Lyle) and his brother have spent their entire adult lives trying to mentor other victims of sexual abuse and establish programs in prison,” she said. “Even though they had no chance of parole, they really felt that the prison system could be improved.”

Erik Menendez has provided hospice care to inmates, their attorney said, while Lyle Menendez’s fellow inmates have chosen him as their representative to prison administration for the past two decades, Ynclan said.

“He is like a mild-mannered CEO who is very busy with multiple projects,” Ynclan said of Lyle.

“He wants to talk about prison reform,” Ynclan said. ‘He talked to me about the lectures he took. I was really impressed that someone in their early 50s, in prison with no chance of parole, would want to take math and statistics to continue to improve themselves. “

With freedom now a possibility, Ynclan described this as an “emotional and tense time” for Lyle Menendez.

“For the first time in decades, he feels like there is a glimmer of hope that one day they can come home to their family,” Ynclan said.

Path 1: Habeas corpus petition

One trail to freedom is the brothers’ habeas corpus petition, filed last year for a review of new evidence not presented at trial.

One piece of evidence is the accusations of Roy Rosselló, a former member of the boy band Menudo, who revealed in the 2023 docuseries “Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed” that he had been raped by music executive Jose Menendez.

The second piece of evidence is a letter Erik Menendez wrote to his cousin eight months before the murders, detailing his alleged abuse. The cousin testified about the alleged abuse during the trial, but the letter — which would have corroborated the cousin’s testimony — was not unearthed until several years ago, according to the brothers’ attorney, Mark Geragos.

This petition allowed the court to change their convictions. The next hearing is scheduled for November 25.

Path 2: The recommendation for recusal goes to the judge and the parole board

A second path is through resentment.

Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón announced in an October 25 court filing that he recommended that the brothers’ life sentences without the possibility of parole be revoked, and that they should instead be convicted of murder, which would be a 50 year sentence. to life.

Because both brothers were under 26 years old at the time of the crimes, the new sentence would make them immediately eligible for parole, Gascón said.

The district attorney’s office said sentencing recommendations take into account factors such as the defendants’ age, psychological trauma or physical abuse that contributed to the commission of the crime and their rehabilitation in prison.

“We appreciate what they did while in prison,” Gascón said at a news conference. “While I disapprove of the way they have dealt with their abuse, we hope that they have not only learned – which appears to have happened – but that as they are reintegrated into our community, they continue to do the public good.”

Gascón’s recommendation will then go to a Los Angeles Superior Court judge, who will weigh factors such as the crime, the brothers’ records while in prison and the positive impact they have had in prison, Brian Buckmire said , ABC News legal contributor.

The judge will also review facts that were not available at the time of the brothers’ conviction in 1996, Buckmire said.

The judge could also take into account “the knowledge of young boys and young men being sexually abused,” Buckmire said. “How they respond, how they respond to that abuse, and how that may not have been information that was readily available at the time of sentencing that could have changed the sentence.”

A hearing is scheduled for December. If the judge agrees to a new sentencing, the case then goes to the parole board.

Even if the judge had already reviewed the facts and factors, “the parole board is going to do their own investigation,” Buckmire said.

The brothers and their family members will also have the opportunity to address the parole board, Buckmire said. In this case, the surviving relatives are not only the family of the perpetrators, but also the family of the victims, “so they have their own rights based on both capacities,” Buckmire said.

One family member, their uncle, Milton Andersen, wants the brothers to remain behind bars, stating that he does not believe they were abused and instead killed their parents out of greed.

But almost twenty family members support the brothers and call for their release.

“They are survivors and deserve a chance to rebuild their lives,” their cousin, Brian Andersen Jr., told reporters in October. “They no longer pose a threat to society.”

“If they came to my house, knocked on my door, I would open it, I would welcome them with huge hugs, my wife would make them dinner and I would give them a pillow and a place to sleep,” Andersen said.

According to the California Department of Corrections, a hearing before the parole board would likely take at least six months.

If the parole board recommends release, the final decision will go to California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Buckmire said.

If released on parole, the brothers will be subject to supervision and monitoring, Buckmire said. Parole often comes with conditions such as keeping a job and avoiding drugs, he said.

Path 3: Mercy

On October 28, the Menendez brothers’ defense opened a third track to possible freedom by submitting a request for clemency to the governor.

The prosecutor announced days later that he supported the brothers’ request for clemency, which would commute their sentences or grant them a pardon.

Newsom will first be eligible to rule on the clemency application on November 7. The governor’s office said this is a confidential process, Newsom does not have to review the application and there is no timeline for the review.

If the governor approves clemency, the case would likely still go before the parole board.

The governor’s office plans to process this request “like any other case,” an official with the office said. “No one gets special treatment.”

Watch “Menendez Brothers: Monsters or Victims?” of “IMPACT by Nightline,” now streaming only on Hulu. (Disney is the parent company of Hulu, ABC News and this channel).