Menendez brothers clemency hearing in June converted to initial parole hearing, corrections officials say
The move to hold the initial parole hearings on June 13 comes days after Erik and Lyle were resentenced by Judge Michael Jesic to 50 years to life, making them eligible for parole. Despite serving less than the minimum 50 years, California's youth offender law granted them eligibility, since they killed their parents before they turned 26 years old.
The Menendez brothers will have to go before the state parole board and argue their case that they no longer pose a threat to public safety, will not re-offend and take accountability for their crimes.
The clemency hearing was scheduled after they submitted a petition to Gov. Gavin Newsom, who ordered the board to conduct a risk assessment report. The admissibility of the report garnered heated debate between the brothers' attorney Mark Geragos and Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman during the resentencing proceedings.
Prior to Jesic's ruling on Tuesday, the brothers were serving life sentences without the possibility of parole for killing their parents, Kitty and Jose Menendez, inside their Beverly Hills home in 1989. They have spent more than three decades behind bars, claiming they killed their parents in self-defense after alleging years of physical, sexual and emotional abuse.
Geragos and family members present in the courtroom celebrated and praised Jesic for this decision.
"I'm hopeful and glad we're one huge step closer to bringing the boys home," Geragos said on Tuesday.
Hochman has repeatedly stated his opposition to the brothers resentencing and on Wednesday told a group of reporters he disagreed with the judge's decision.
"I believe that the Menendez brothers have started down the path of fully accepting responsibility for all their actions, but they stop short in their statements," Hochman said. "For instance, they've never said that the self-defense, defense, that they've said during trials, that they've said for the last 30 years, that it's absolutely false."
If either of the Menendez brothers is denied parole during their independent hearings, they could lobby for their freedom again in future meetings with the board. However, it may take a few years before their next appointment.
If the panel denies an inmate parole, state law requires the board to schedule another hearing three, five, seven, 10, or 15 years in the future, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
If the brothers are approved for parole, Newsom could reject the board's recommendation.
"On the basis of recommendation, I reject the parole board's recommendations often," Newsom said.
In 2022, Newsom rejected two notable parole recommendations for assassin Sirhan Sirhan and former Charles Manson follower Leslie Van Houten.
CBS News Los Angeles reached out to the governor's office, which did not want to comment directly on the clemency investigation or hearings.
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