“DA remains open to Menendez brothers’ push for release”

Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón announced at a press conference on Thursday, October 3 that he is “open to” the Menendez brothers’ request for release.

“I’m not leaning in either direction right now,” Gascón said. “We have people in the office who are reviewing this very carefully, very experienced attorneys who are reviewing this. Your recommendation will be presented to me, but the final decision will be mine.”

“We review the information, but I think it’s also important that we recognize that both men and women can be victims of sexual assault,” he continued.

Gascón also told reporters that his office has “a moral and ethical obligation to examine what is presented to us” to decide whether the brothers should be resentenced or whether a rehearing of the case is “appropriate.” He added: “If there had been evidence that was not presented to the court at the time, and if that evidence had been presented, the jury may have reached a different conclusion.”

Lyle and Erik Menendez were convicted in 1996 of first-degree murder in the deaths of their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez.

In May 2023, attorneys for the brothers, who are serving life sentences, filed a habeas corpus petition in Los Angeles County Superior Court, citing new evidence in the case.

In the petition, the lawyers cited allegations of sexual abuse by Roy Rosselló, a former member of the Puerto Rican boy band Menudo, against Jose, who they said raped him in the 1980s. The brother’s lawyers also pointed to a newly discovered letter Erik wrote to his now-deceased cousin Andy Cano in which he described his father’s alleged sexual abuse months before the murders.

Regarding the new evidence, Gascón, who is up for re-election, said none of the evidence has been confirmed by his office. “We are not ready to say at this point whether we either believe or disbelieve this information,” he said Thursday. “We’re not saying there was anything wrong with the original process.”

“We are here to tell you that we have a moral and ethical obligation to review what is presented to us and make a decision based on resentencing,” Gascón continued.

Gascón said the assistant district attorneys in his office had different opinions about what should happen to the brothers.

“There are differences of opinion within the office and that is a healthy part of the process,” he said. “You don’t want everyone to agree on something. And then one of the things that I personally do well is listening to different opinions and having different perspectives on evidence or a particular case or the law. So.” There are people in the office who would tell you that this case should never be retried or granted habeas. There are other people in the office who believe that this should be looked at carefully and that there may be proceedings there. “I will make the final decision based on all these discussions.”

Gascón said a hearing is scheduled for Nov. 26.

Asked whether the case would have been handled differently today, Gascon said he was “not here to pass judgment on it, but there is no doubt that there would have been a greater degree of sensitivity to the way it was handled today.” how the case was viewed.”

Lyle was 21 and Erik was 18 when they burst into the den of their Beverly Hills, California home with 12-gauge shotguns on August 20, 1989, and fatally shot their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez, while the couple was watching television.

Jose, the head of RCA Records at the time of his murder, was shot multiple times. including up close in the head. Kitty, 47, suffered 15 gunshot wounds, including one to the face.

According to the brothers, the murders came after years of sexual abuse by their Hollywood executive father – abuse that they claimed was ignored by their mother, a former beauty queen.

But prosecutors at the time said the two brothers’ motive was greed, citing the lavish spending spree that included expensive watches, cars and tennis lessons that they went on after the murders.

In 1996, three years after their first trial ended in deadlock, the siblings were convicted of first-degree murder and subsequently sentenced.

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Mark Geragos, the Menendez brothers’ post-conviction attorney, said the brothers, who have spent more than three decades in prison and are both now in the Donovan State Correctional Facility, are “cautiously optimistic” that the petition will succeed he said.