Erik and Lyle Menéndez were forwarded on Tuesday to 50 years of life in prison, which will make them eligible for probation at some point, the last step in a battle of years for the brothers who try to be released after 35 years after the bars.
The probation process will be long and could take years.
Erik and Lyle Menéndez were initially sentenced to life imprisonment without probation for the 1989 murders of their parents, José and Kitty Menéndez. They have the support of more than 20 family members in their efforts to be released.
The brothers saw the highly anticipated resentment hearing on Tuesday by video of the prison and gave their own statements to the judge.
Defensor lawyer Mark Geragos called several relatives from Menéndez to the stand, including cousin Anamaria Baralt.
Through the tears, Baralt begged Judge Michael Jesus to release his cousins, and pointed out that time is running out to meet with older family members.
“They are very different men” who when they committed the murders, said Baralt, and added that “their transformation is remarkable.”
During the interrogation, Baralt told prosecutors that the brothers have assumed all the responsibility of the crimes and that Lyle Menéndez admitted to having asked a witness to be in the trial. But Baralt admitted that they have not recognized some aspects of the case for her, since the prosecutors argue that the brothers have not admitted until the reach of their crimes and cover -ups.
In this archive photo of April 12, 1991, Lyle, Left, and Erik Menéndez present to the court a preliminary hearing held in Beverly Hills, California.
Kevork Djansian/AP, file
A retired judge who worked with therapy dogs said at the stage that the brothers are considered leaders and that they changed their views on the rehabilitation of inmates. He said he used to punish the defendants, but due to the brothers and their work to help the elderly and other inmates, he now believes in rehabilitation.
The prosecution did not call any witness.
The resontent decision of Jesus follows the recommendation made in October by the then district prosecutor of Los Angeles County, George Gascón.
Gascón recommended that the life prayers of the brothers without probation, said that they should be sentenced by murder, which would be a 50 -year sentence to life imprisonment. Because both brothers were less than 26 years old at the time of crimes, they would be eligible for probation immediately under California’s law.
The Gascón office said that their resentment recommendations take into account many factors, including rehabilitation in prison and abuse or trauma that contributed to the crime. Gascón praised the behavior of the brothers in prison, saying that programs were rehabilitated and began to help other inmates.
This combination of two reserve photos provided by the California corrections department shows Erik Menéndez, on the left and Lyle Menéndez.
California corrections department through AP
In November, Gascón lost his commitment to re -election against Nathan Hochman, who in March presented a motion to withdraw the request for resentment, calling the personal defense statements of the brothers starts from a litany of “lies.” The judge denied Hochman’s request.
The resentment audience on Tuesday was a confrontation between Geragos and Hochman, who wants to keep the brothers behind bars.
“The problem is never for ressence,” Hochman told ABC News in an exclusive interview on Monday night. “It is not yet.”
“The Menéndez brothers have not cleaned with the total reach of their criminal conduct, their cover -up, their lies and their deception,” Hochman said outside the court on Tuesday morning.
“When and if they do, and they do it sincerely,” Hochman said, they would be “ready to resort.”
Meanwhile, Geragos told reporters outside the Court on Tuesday: “There are no two best candidates in the state of California at this time to resort to Erik and Lyle Menéndez.”
“It is a unicorn style situation in which you have horrible crimes, of which no one is moving away, but also notable, remarkable, almost incomparable rehabilitation and redemption,” he said.
“All the living members of the family are unified in their belief that they must be released and released immediately,” Geragos added.
A hearing was held on Friday to determine whether the resentment case must include information on the recently completed risk assessment of the California probation Board, which was carried out as part of a separate clemency route. The risk assessment occurred at the request of Governor Gavin Newsom as part of the brothers’ clemency offer; The brothers are chasing multiple ways of freedom, and the path of clemency is separated from the resentment path.
The risk assessment said that Erik and Lyle Menéndez represent a moderate risk for the community if they are released.
The evaluation revealed that the brothers had illegal cell phones in prison, among many other violations, although many are not recent. However, Erik Menéndez had a phone as recently as January of this year, what Hochman stressed during the resentment effort when he should have been in his best behavior.
The defense said that Erik Menéndez had an article for violence 25 years ago and Lyle Menéndez has not had any.
Jesus said that part of the risk assessment of the resentment case will take into account, but added that the information in the evaluation is preliminary and the lawyers cannot question the psychologists who performed the exams.
