Election Results Could Mean Changes for Angry Menendez Brothers

Only two weeks have passed since the ministry’s statement. Los Angeles County District Attorney gave to his supporters Lyle and Erik Menendez A new hope that the duo serving life sentences may finally be released. However, the results of the recent elections have cast a shadow over this future; Members of the Menendez family argue that the brothers should become free people again.

“It is time for Erik and Lyle Menendez to be released. For the sake of themselves and their families,” said Bryan Freedman, attorney for the 24 family members. Menendez brothers tells Rolling stone in a statement. “These men served their time and proved to be exemplary citizens while in prison, despite having no hope of release. “It’s time for them and the family to be allowed to heal.”

Lyle and Erik are best known for the deaths of their parents, Jose Menendez and Mary Louise, better known as “Kitty”, on August 20, 1989. The brothers were arrested in 1990 and charged with first-degree murder. now infamous In the lawsuit, broadcast live by CourtTV, Erik and Lyle claimed they killed their parents because they were sexually assaulted by their father and feared for their lives. The jury deadlocked, and after a retrial, Lyle and Erik were found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison, where they spent the last 30 years. In late October, Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón recommended resentencing the brothers because of new evidence. If that were to happen, they would join the ranks of more than 300 people who were outraged during Gascón’s time in office. But after Nathan Hochman won Tuesday’s election and became the new district attorney, replacing Gascón, supporters of the move Menendez brothers They are concerned this could mean a delay in their release.

Hochman ran on a more conservative platform than Gascón and described himself as “hard mediumThe candidate compared to Gascón, whose tenure he called a “public security failure.” In the shared statement rolling stone, Hochman, who will take office on December 2, says he will need time to review all of Menendez’s files, which may take some time.

“I will need to thoroughly familiarize myself with the relevant facts, evidence, and law before making any decision regarding the Menendez brothers’ case,” he says. “I will need to review confidential prison files for each brother, transcripts from both cases, and speak with prosecutors, law enforcement, defense attorneys, and family members of the victims. Only then can I make a decision. “If I need additional time for any reason, I will ask the court for this time.”

Gascón’s resentment decision revolved around a new writ of habeas corpus, a request to challenge a person’s incarceration, filed by Lyle and Erik’s legal teams. Their lawyers argue that the brothers’ retrial, in which prosecutors said Erik and Lyle’s sexual assault allegations were “completely fabricated,” did not include significant evidence that would substantiate their claims. This does not include the testimony of Lyle’s older cousin, Diane VanderMolen; Diane VanderMolen testified at the first hearing that Lyle stayed at her home in Menendez during the summer when she was 16, and that Lyle came into her room one night when she was only eight and told her off. He was afraid to sleep in his own room because his father touched his genitals.

The petition also includes new evidence that was not available at the time of Menendez’s retrial. Following the conviction, journalist Robert Rand obtained a letter Erik had written to his cousin Andy Cano, when he was 17, eight months before the shootings. In the letter excerpted from the habeas petition, Erik described being abused by his father and how it happened. he was afraid. “This still happens Andy but it’s worse for me now,” Erik wrote. “I never know when this will happen and it drives me crazy. “I stay up every night thinking he might break in… He warned me 100 times not to tell anyone.” In the 2023 Peacock docuseries, Menendez + Menudo: The Betrayed BoysRand also detailed new allegations from Roy Rossello, a former member of the Puerto Rican boy band Menudo. Rossello also claimed that music manager José Menendez sexually harassed her. (Rossello’s allegations are also included in the file.)

At least 24 relatives of the Menendez brothers argued that the boys were sentenced only to first-degree murder because the men’s sexual assaults were not taken seriously at the time. They now continue to hope that the brothers will take offense despite Hochman’s new role.

“Childhood sexual abuse is not gender-based and failure to recognize this sets an extremely dangerous precedent. Politics should not be an obstacle to doing the right thing. “I find it hard to believe that Nathan Hochman would feel any differently,” Freedman adds. “The victims’ family and my firm will continue to exercise victims’ rights and are cautiously optimistic that the prosecutor, the prosecutor-elect, the Governor, and anyone else committed to upholding true justice will join us.”