LA District Attorney Supports Erik and Lyle Menendez’s Request for Clemency

Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon supports Plum And Lyle MenendezGascón said on Wednesday, October 20, that he had requested a pardon from California Governor Gavin Newsom.

Erik (53) and Lyle (56) is serving a life sentence without parole for 1989 shotgun murders your parents Jose and Kitty Menendez.

“I strongly support the pardon of Erik and Lyle Menendez, who are currently serving life sentences without the possibility of parole,” Gascón wrote in an op-ed. Press release. “They served for 34 years respectively and continued their education, working to create new programs to support the rehabilitation of their fellow inmates.”

The support comes after Erik and Lyle’s legal team requested clemency on Monday, October 28. The request now goes to Newsom, 57, for consideration, according to the statement.

Gascón has previously supported efforts to anger the Menendez brothers, telling PEOPLE in an exclusive interview on Oct. 22 that he doesn’t believe they are. a danger to society.

“Based on everything I know, I don’t believe they are,” he said. “Frankly, they probably weren’t there very long, if they were at all. I don’t think it’s like killing people or robbing people on the street.”

On October 25, Gascón announced that his office would ask questions of a Los Angeles Superior Court judge. Getting angry at Lyle and Erik Lifespan up to 50 years. He stated that they were “juvenile offenders” eligible for parole because they were under 26 when they killed their parents.

Erik was 18 and Lyle was 21 when they shot and killed their parents with a 12-gauge shotgun in the study room of their home in Beverly Hills, California, on August 20, 1989. The brothers claimed that the murders came after Chief Jose. operating officer of RCA Records, sexually abused them Abuse they claim they ignored for years – from their mother, a former pageant queen.

“They have been in prison for about 35 years,” Gascón told PEOPLE about the brothers. “I believe they have paid their debt to society.” During their time in prison, they “went on a different journey; a journey of redemption and a journey of rehabilitation.”

The court hearing will be held on December 11, according to Wednesday’s press release.