The efforts of brothers Erik and Lyle Menendez, condemned in the United States for murder, move further. A court hearing planned for Thursday and Friday, in which the sentence was to be renegotiated, was postponed to May 9 at short notice. Judge Michael Jesic ordered the postponement after a dispute between the public prosecutor and the defenders of the brothers.
The new district prosecutor of Los Angeles, Nathan Hochman, who is against the release of the brothers, had applied for the hearing of the hearing at short notice. The dispute revolves around an evaluation report that the state probation committee created at the instructions of the California governor Gavin Newsom. The brothers submitted an application for mercy in Newsom. The report should check whether the two would be a public risk in the event of a release.
Nothing became known about the content of the report. Judge Jesic now wants to be in May whether this report should be admitted to upcoming court hearing.
Decades behind grids
The 54 and 57 -year -old brothers Eric and Lyle Menendez have been sitting behind bars since 1990. They were arrested half a year after a shocking act of violence in the chic Beverly Hills. There the then 19 and 21 year old brothers shot their wealthy parents Jose and Kitty Menendez in the living room of the parents’ house.
Allegations of abuse
Initially, the brothers denied the deed. Later they explained that they had been sexually, mentally and physically abused by their parents for years and had acted for fear of them. In the first criminal trial against millionaire sons there were descriptions of years of abuse by the father. But in the end the procedure burst – the jury could not unanimously agree on a judgment in 1994.
In a second trial, the brothers were guilty of double murder in 1996 and sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of release. In this procedure, the responsible judge largely prohibited statements about the alleged sexual abuse. According to the public prosecutor, the brothers killed greed to get their parents’ assets.
Netflix rolls up the story again
Two Netflix productions recently rolled up again. The case moved back into the spotlight again. The Menendez brothers sit in a prison in San Diego in South California. Several relatives of the brothers campaign for their release.
Possible ways to freedom
A good leadership behind bars could be taken into account in the event of a renegotiation on the sentence. If the court decides in favor of the brothers, a release on probation would be possible.
In addition, the California governor Erik and Lyle Menendez could pardon. A hearing before the probation committee is planned for June.
Hochman’s predecessor, the former district prosecutor George Gascón, had campaigned for a new sentence last year. He suggests that in the 1990s there was less awareness of seeing men as victims of sexual violence.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 250418-930-449131/1