LA DA Gascón to recommend resentencing of Menendez brothers

Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón announced Thursday that he would recommend that Lyle and Erik Menendez, serving life sentences for murdering their parents José and Mary Louise "Kitty" Menendez in 1989, be resentenced and made eligible for parole.

Gascón said he would recommend that the brothers be resentenced to 50 years to life in prison, with immediate eligibility for youthful parole because they were under 26 at the time of the murders.

"We're very sure not only that the brothers have rehabilitated and that they will be safe to be reintegrated in our society, but that they have paid their dues, not only for the crimes that they committed, but because of all the other things they have done to improve the life of so many others," he said at a news conference, highlighting their participation in forming trauma support groups and advocating for prisoners with disabilities while incarcerated.

Gascón said the decision stemmed from the unearthing of new evidence supporting the brothers' claims that their parents physically and sexually abused them, including a letter written by Erik to his cousin describing the abuse and testimony from another alleged victim of abuse by José.

A flood of public information requests generated by recent documentaries also prompted the move, Gascón said, although he didn't specify which ones. Most recently the brothers were the subject of separate docudrama and documentary series aired on streaming service Netflix.

"Even though this case was already scheduled to be heard in late November, I decided to move this forward because, quite frankly, we did not have enough resources to handle all the requests," he said.

Gascón said the decision was fiercely debated within his office, noting that the final determination was made just an hour before the news conference.

"It is very possible that there may be members of this office that will be present in court opposing their resentencing, and they have a right to do so," he said. "We encourage those that disagree with us to speak, and the court is the appropriate place to do it."

The announcement comes amid a contentious race for the district attorney's office, with election day less than two weeks away.

Gascón's opponent, former federal prosecutor Nathan Hochman, questioned whether the timing was politically motivated in a statement released at the same time as the news conference.

"D.A. George Gascón received the Menendez habeas corpus petition in May 2023 and request for resentencing in February 2024. Yet, he has waited until days before the November 5 election, 30 points down in the polls with articles coming about how his failed policies have led to additional murders of innocent people, to release his recommendation for resentencing," Hochman said.

"By releasing it now," he continued, "Gascón has cast a cloud over the fairness and impartiality of his decision, allowing Angelenos to question whether the decision was correct and just or just another desperate political move by a D.A. running a losing campaign scrambling to grab headlines through a made-for-TV decision. Angelenos and everyone involved deserve better."

Rimon PC partner and legal analyst Manny Medrano said in a phone call on Thursday there is "no question" the timing was political.

"Gascón no doubt wanted to send a message to constituents and to voters that while on the one hand he says he can be tough on crime, on the other hand, he still has his innate commitment to helping people and giving people a second shot at life," he said.

Arash Hashemi, criminal defense attorney and president of the Criminal Courts Bar Association, agreed, noting that he was commenting as an individual and not as a representative of the association or its members.

"By taking a stance on the Menendez case, he's signaling to voters that he's committed to addressing historical injustices, even if they are controversial or politically sensitive," Hashemi said in an email on Thursday. "However, it's important to note that while his recommendation for resentencing will carry significant weight, the ultimate decision rests with the court. Gascón may also be trying to take attention away from the election itself and therefore put himself in the media spotlight over his opponent."

Kathleen M. Cady of Dordulian Law Group in Glendale also questioned the timing of the announcement.

"With Gascón trailing by 30 points in the polls, his desperation is palpable," she said in an email on Thursday. "The upcoming election is less than two weeks away, and it seems Gascón is willing to manipulate the facts for a fleeting chance to salvage his political career."

Cady applied to file an amicus curiae brief on behalf of the brother of Kitty Menendez on Wednesday.

Trial attorney and Criminal Courts Bar Association Vice President Nafisé Nina Hodjat said before the announcement on Thursday that an attempt to reduce the sentence would be "disastrous" for Gascón's campaign.

"He is already under fire by his opponents for the idea that he has been lax on crime," Hodjat said in an email. "Gascón's attempt to reduce the sentences in highly publicized cases could further strengthen his opponents' arguments that he does not take violent crimes seriously."

Jonathan Baum, a partner at Steptoe & Johnson LLP in San Francisco, where Gascón was previously DA, called the announcement "typical George Gascón" in an email on Thursday.

"While he's always been tough on crime, DA Gascón has never forgotten that criminal defendants are people too, with families and communities," Baum said. "By seeking resentencing in this case, Gascón is treating the Menendez brothers' case with the same care I've seen him give to other matters in both San Francisco and Los Angeles, where he seeks justice, not just wins for his office."

"If the Menedez brothers' case was tried today, it's almost impossible to imagine a court excluding compelling evidence of sexual abuse," Baum added. "Evidence of the physical and psychological harm the brothers suffered goes directly to their mental state, and would likely have supported a conviction for manslaughter, rather than first-degree murder."

Shirin Bakhshay, an assistant professor at UCLA School of Law who teaches criminal law, said the move is in line with recent trends of resentencing to reduce prison populations.

"Gascón in particular has been someone at the forefront of resentencing with his resentencing unit, and devoting a fair amount of resources to looking into really, really long sentences -- and here you're talking about, you know, the longest sentence that you can get, which is life without the possibility of parole," she said in a phone call on Thursday.

Changed attitudes regarding the effect of trauma on adolescent development could help the brothers secure the lesser sentence they were unable to get nearly 30 years ago, Bakhshay said.

"You have a world in which people understand child abuse, sexual abuse, psychological trauma, to be much more impactful in terms of behaviors and processing and impulse control and those sorts of things," she said. "So, any evidence that would speak to those issues would be more relevant today than it would have been 30 years ago."

Katharine Tinto, director of the criminal justice clinic at UC Irvine School of Law, expressed similar sentiments.

"The difference between thinking someone killed someone for money versus someone killing their abuser is a significant difference with respect to culpability," she said. "We have broadened our understanding about culpability in a lot of different ways - for example, women who have killed their abusers or people who have fought back."

"This sort of evidence, if presented at a trial, could have had a different outcome, and it could have had a different outcome for punishment," Tinto added.