Menendez brothers ask California Governor Newsom for clemency

Erik and Joseph “Lyle” Menendez, the Beverly Hills brothers who shot their parents in the back in 1989, are asking California Gov. Gavin Newsom for clemency less than a week later. Los Angeles’ The district attorney told the judge that prison sentences should be reduced.

Their attorney, Mark Geragos, filed the documents Monday, according to Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascon’s office.

The governor’s office said it could not discuss details.

THE MENENDEZ BROTHERS ARE GETTING STRONGER: WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

Lyle Menendez (left) and his brother Erik are seen in their most recent mugshot, taken on October 10. (California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation)

“Pending pardon applications are confidential and we are unable to discuss individual cases,” a spokesperson told Fox News Digital.

The brothers are both sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, but Gascon’s request last week cleared the way for the judge to give the brothers lighter sentences.

Gascon recommended a sentence of 50 years to life, which would allow them to immediately attend parole hearings. He said he was opposed to taking things a step further and reducing his charges to first-degree murder. to murder.

He then returned on Wednesday, publicly calling on Newsom to show mercy and release the brothers before the restraining process concludes in front of a judge.

DECISION HAS BEEN ANNOUNCED AGAIN FOR THE MENENDEZ BROTHERS’ PROSECUTOR

Mark Geragos, defense attorney for Erik and Lyle Menendez, the Beverly Hills brothers convicted of murdering their parents, speaks at a news conference at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in Los Angeles on October 16. (Reuters/Mike Blake)

“I strongly support pardoning Erik and Lyle Menendez, who are currently serving life sentences without the possibility of parole,” Gascon said. he said. “They served for 34 years respectively and continued their education, working to create new programs to support the rehabilitation of their fellow inmates.”

The DA, who is up for re-election in less than a week, sent a separate letter to the governor in support of each brother.

Read Gascon’s letter supporting this Erik Menendez

The murders were planned in advance. The brothers walked behind their parents, holding shotguns, while they were watching television at 10:30 p.m. They had to go to the car to reload the guns before fatally shooting their mother, who tried to flee the bloody scene after being injured. .

Whatever happens with their clemency requests, Newsom will have the final say on whether they will be released.

Read Gascon’s letter supporting Lyle Menendez

Even if the parole board approves their release, the governor veto power.

TIMELINE OF THE MENENDEZ BROTHERS’ MURDER CASE

An undated photo of the Menendez family appears on screen at the CrimeCon 2024 panel on June 2 in Nashville, Tennessee. Lyle and Erik were convicted of fatally shooting their parents in 1989. (Michael Ruiz/Fox News Digital)

The brothers claim they shot their father, former RCA Records executive Jose Menendez, in self-defense and thought he was going to kill them after warning them that they planned to expose him as a trafficker. child sexual abuser.

They also killed their mother, Mary “Kitty” Menendez, who was eating ice cream and watching television next to Jose during the ambush.

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Their first trial ended in a mistrial because jurors could not agree on their fate. After a second trial in the mid-1990s that excluded some evidence about the alleged sexual abuse, jurors agreed with prosecutors that the case was one of greed.