Los Angeles DA Pushes For Menendez Brothers Release With Short Timeline Of Response
Erik and Lyle Menendez may be one step closer to being released from prison after having spent almost three decades behind bars for the murder of their parents at their Beverly Hills home back in 1989. The pair has none other than the Los Angeles County District Attorney, George Gascón, to thank for the possible turnaround as not only has the DA championed the men himself, but now he’s put out his hopes and support of their release to the California Governor Gavin Newsom.
In Governor Gavin Newsom’s Hands
The Los Angeles DA pushed for the Menendez brothers’ release via a letter sent to Governor Newsom’s office. In it, he wrote about his “strong support” behind two separate letters for clemency that both Erik and Lyle Menendez’s attorneys sent to the California leader’s office just days earlier. Of both men, George Gascón said they “have respectively served 34 years and have continued their educations and worked to create new programs to support the rehabilitation of fellow inmates.”
So, why is Governor Newsom such an important player in how things will play out for the Menendez brothers and their potential release? As per the state of California’s constitution, whoever holds the role of governor has almost unlimited powers to hand down pardons or shortened sentences.
This means that should the Governor decide that justice has been done and that time has been served, Erik and Lyle Menendez could be sent home or, at the very least, have their sentences reduced from life to something with an end in sight.
As of the time of this article’s posting, Governor Newsom hasn’t given a clear-cut answer to the Los Angeles DA’s plea, but comments that he made earlier this week may give us a clue about where California’s Governor sits on the Menendez brothers’ possible release.
The Netflix Series Helped The Brothers’ Case
Recognizing the major role that Ryan Murphy’s recent Netflix series, Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story played in bringing public attention back to the case, Newsom said, “What matters is justice and fairness. Not treating them any worse because they’re celebrities, not treating them certainly any better because they’re celebrities.”
The second season of Netflix and Murphy’s Monsters franchise, Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story landed on the streamer back in September with Nicholas Alexander Chavez and Cooper Koch starring as the siblings, respectively.
While not as popular with critics as the first season, which saw Evan Peters step into the role of serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, the follow-up certainly put the brothers’ stories back under the microscope, with many calling for the Menendez brothers’ immediate release from prison.
Nearly 30 Years Behind Bars
What we know for a fact is that on August 20, 1989, Erik and Lyle Menendez killed their parents via several shotgun blasts while the two were in the den of their Beverly Hills mansion. After covering their tracks just enough to evade capture, the pair would eventually go down for the slayings in what would become a highly publicized court case.
The Menendez brothers’ legal defense team heavily relied on the allegations that the pair had been sexually abused for years at the hands of their father, Jose Menendez, hoping that the court would be swayed and the pair would be given release.
Now, almost 30 years since the guilty verdict was passed, the brothers have continued to live their lives from behind bars, and have set up multiple groups to help other men in prison. Both of the Menendez brothers are currently serving their sentences at the same San Diego facility where, should their release be granted, they would likely be walking out just days after the resentencing.
Source: Deadline
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