How the Menendez Brothers' Possible Prison Release Could Be Affected After D.A. Gets Voted Out
Could the proposed re-sentencing and even possible parole of the Menendez brothers be up in the air now that a new Los Angeles County District Attorney has been elected?
George Gascón, the incumbent L.A. County D.A. who had recommended that Erik and Lyle Menendez be re-sentenced and made eligible for parole, was voted out in favor of incoming D.A. Nathan Hochman on Election Day in Los Angeles on Tuesday (Nov. 5).
Does that mean his recommendation for the Menendez brothers will now go unheeded?
The controversial brothers, 21 and 18 at the time, murdered their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez, at their Beverly Hills home in 1989. Erik initially claimed intruders were responsible as a potential mob hit, but after authorities investigated, their suspicions grew after the brothers lavishly spent their multimillion-dollar inheritance.
But earlier this year, Netflix's Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story illustrated how the brother's actions also stemmed from a lifetime of alleged physical and emotional abuse.
As such, Gascón had announced his interest in reviewing the convictions of the Menendez brothers weeks after the Netflix series dropped and new evidence was submitted, backing up the allegations of the sexual abuse the siblings suffered at the hands of their own father.
Hochman came away with 61.3% of the vote in the Los Angeles elections on Tuesday, deftly defeating the incumbent, who had been in the position since 2020.
But the switch in D.A. doesn't necessarily mean the brothers will officially stay incarcerated, as OK! reported this week, with the magazine pointing out that it's ultimately up to the judge in the case to make any final decisions. (It also reported that Hochman had criticized Gascón for his "suspicious" timing in reviewing the case ahead of the election.)
At a press conference last month, via Lawyer Herald, Gascón cautioned, "There's people in the office that strongly believe the Menendez brothers should stay in prison for the rest of their life. They do not believe they were molested."
However, he added, "After careful review... [...] under the law, resentencing is appropriate, and I'm going to recommend that to the court tomorrow. What that means in this case, [...] life without the possibility of parole will be removed."
