A resentencing hearing for Eric and Lyle Menendez is scheduled to begin Tuesday, just days after a new assessment changed the brothers’ risk status.
The Menendez brothers are both serving life sentences without the possibility of parole for the 1989 shotgun murders of their parents, Kitty and Jose Menendez.
Family members say the brothers have been rehabilitated after more than 30 years in prison and should be released, which a resentencing could allow, but Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman does not agree.
“I don’t think they should be resentenced right now,” Hochman said in a recent interview. “They’ve not come clean with all of the lies that they have told over the last 30 years about their crime. And full insight into one’s actions is a huge signal that you’ve been rehabilitated. And if you haven’t been rehabilitated, you continue to constitute a risk of violence and danger to society.”
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FILE – Lyle, left, and Erik Menendez sit in Beverly Hills Municipal Court where their attorneys delayed making pleas on behalf of the brothers who are suspected in the murders of their parents on March 12, 1990. (AP Photo/Nick Ut) -
FILE – This combination of two booking photos provided by the California Department of Corrections shows Erik Menendez, left, and Lyle Menendez. (California Dept. of Corrections via AP, File) -
A courtroom sketch shows Joan VanderMolen, sister of Kitty Menendez, speaking during a hearing on Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (Mona Edwards) -
Lyle, left, and Erik Menendez sit with defense attorney Leslie Abramson, right, in Beverly Hills Municipal Court during a hearing, Nov. 26, 1990. (AP Photo/Nick Ut, File) -
Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman gives a news conference about the Menendez brothers case in Los Angeles, Monday, March 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes) -
Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon speaks during a news conference regarding the Menendez brothers, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024, at the Hall of Justice in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer) -
Erik and Lyle Menendez are pictured, on August 12, 1991 in Beverly Hills. (Getty Images) -
Erik Menendez, left, and is brother Lyle, in front of their Beverly Hills home. (Getty) -
Menendez brothers, Erik, left, and Lyle on the steps of their Beverly Hills home in November, 1989. (Getty Images)
The hearing, which is expected to last two days, also comes in the wake of findings shared in a comprehensive risk assessment by the state’s parole board.
The report raised the brothers’ risk level from “low” to “moderate” and contained a rules infraction involving a cellphone, the Los Angeles Times reported.
“Now we have board-certified psychologists that are also agreeing,” Hochman said, referring to the report. “He violates the rules of the prison that he’s at when he gets an illegal cellphone … You would think that someone would be on their best behavior if they knew that a judge was going to reconsider their resentencing motion,” Hochman said.
Defense attorney Mark Geragos responded to the cellphone incident on Friday, downplaying the severity of the infraction.
“The standard for the judge … is, are they likely to commit a ‘super strike’? Last time I looked, cellphones in prison are not a ‘super strike,’” Geragos said.
In California, a “super strike” refers to a specific list of extremely serious felonies such as murder or sexual assault.
It was not known if the brothers would testify during the resentencing hearing, but KTLA reporter Annie Rose Ramos has heard that it was unlikely.
No cameras will be allowed in the courtroom.
