(NewsNation) — Family members of Erik and Lyle Menendez, who were convicted of killing their parents, Jose and Kitty, in 1996, held a news conference Wednesday in Los Angeles, hoping to move the needle in the brothers’ appeal of their conviction.
Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón announced earlier this month that he was reviewing new evidence in the case against the brothers. Following Wednesday’s news conference, family members went to the Hall of Justice to meet with the resentencing unit.
New evidence being looked at allegedly includes a letter from Erik Menendez to a cousin before the killings. In it, Erik Menendez details some of the sexual abuse he survived at the hands of Jose Menendez.
Plus, new allegations against Jose Menendez from a second young boy claiming to have been raped by him at 14 have come into the spotlight. In addition, the Mendenez brothers’ lawyer Mark Geragos said he may release letters from correctional officers who attest to the men’s phenomenal rehabilitation on Thursday.
Family members said Wednesday that if the brothers’ trial had happened in modern times, with the current understanding of trauma and abuse, the outcome would have been different.
Anamaria Baralt, niece of Jose Menendez, said her cousins were “victims of a system that wouldn’t hear them” and a culture that wasn’t ready to listen.
“Despite their circumstances, they have chosen a life of light. Without hope of release they persevered,” Baralt said. “They have sought to better themselves and serve as support and inspirations for survivors all over the world. Their continued incarceration serves no rehabilitative purpose. It’s time to recognize the injustice they’ve suffered and allow them the second chance they deserve.”
For many years, Kitty Menendez’s sister, Joan Andersen VanderMolen said, she struggled to come to terms with what happened in the family.
“It was a nightmare none of us could have imagined,” she said. “As details of Lyle and Erik’s abuse came to light, it became clear that their actions while tragic were the desperate response of two boys trying to survive the unspeakable cruelty of their father.”
Family stands by Menendez brothers
Family members have said the Menendez brothers should not have been charged with murder, but manslaughter — but that wasn’t an option.
Erik Menendez, now 53, and his 56-year-old brother, Lyle Menendez, are currently incarcerated in state prison without the possibility of parole after being convicted of killing their parents in their Beverly Hills mansion more than 35 years ago. Jurors in 1996 rejected a death sentence.
Lyle Menendez, who was then 21, and Erik Menendez, then 18, admitted they fatally shot their parents in 1989. However, they argued self-defense, saying they feared their parents were about to kill them to prevent the disclosure of the father’s long-term sexual molestation of Erik. Prosecutors contended there was no evidence of any molestation. They said the sons were after their parents’ multimillion-dollar estate.
While testimony and evidence about the sexual abuse was allowed in the brothers’ first trial, which ended in a hung jury, it was not allowed in the second trial.
“I always believed that they were sexually molested,” Karen VanderMolen Copley, Kitty Menendez’s niece, told NewsNation’s Chris Cuomo earlier this month. “My sister Diane lived with them, and they have evidence that was not allowed. We have always supported the boys once we knew and understood the facts.”
The extended family’s attorney Bryan Freedman previously said they strongly support the brothers’ release.
New evidence sparks case review
Earlier this month, Gascón said there is no question the brothers committed the 1989 murders, but his office will be reviewing new evidence and will make a decision on whether a resentencing is warranted in the notorious case that captured national attention. A hearing was scheduled for Nov. 29.
The case has gained new traction in recent weeks after Netflix began streaming the true-crime drama “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
