Here's What the Menendez Brothers Said After Judge Gave Them a Potential Path to Freedom

• Lyle and Erik Menendez were resentenced to 50 years to life in prison on May 13, making them immediately eligible for parole.
• The brothers were serving a life sentence for the 1989 shotgun murders of their parents Jose and Kitty Menendez in their $5 million Beverly Hills home.
• Lyle and Erik appeared in court remotely and took “responsibility” for their roles in the slayings, which they have claimed were committed in self-defense after years of sexual abuse by Jose.

After more than three decades behind bars, the Menendez brothers have a chance at freedom.

On Tuesday, May 13, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic resentenced Lyle and Erik Menendez to 50 years to life in prison, which makes them immediately eligible for parole, Fox 11 Los Angeles, NBC News and ABC 10 San Diego all reported.

Lyle, now 57, and Erik, now 54, have been serving a life sentence without parole since their 1996 conviction for fatally shooting their parents, Kitty and Jose Menendez, in their $5 million Beverly Hills home in 1989. 

The brothers, who were 21 and 18 at the time of the killings, have admitted to the murders but maintained they acted in self-defense after years of sexual abuse by Jose — abuse they claimed was ignored by their mom. Prosecutors claimed the two brothers’ motive was greed and cited their lavish spending spree after the slayings.

At Tuesday’s long-awaited resentencing hearing, which included testimony from family members supporting their bid for freedom, Lyle and Erik made a virtual appearance from the San Diego prison where they are being held. Both brothers took “responsibility” for their roles.

“I killed my mom and dad,” Lyle said in court, per NBC News. “I make no excuses. I take full responsibility.”

Lyle continued, “I was impulsive and immature, and I bottled up my own emotions and anger. I was scared, but also filled with rage,” he added, per Fox News.

“Had I trusted others to help me, I wouldn’t have committed these crimes,” Lyle said, per CNN. “I didn’t think anyone would believe me about my sexual abuse.”

Erik shared a similar sentiment, calling his actions, “criminal, selfish, cruel and cowardly,” per NBC News.  He also admitted to lying to police at the time about their involvement in the slayings, saying, “There is no excuse for my behavior.”

After he resentenced the brothers, Judge Jesic said he’d given the matter “long thought,” acknowledging they committed an “absolutely horrific crime, and there’s no way around it.”

But he said he was moved by the brothers’ behavior behind bars. “Life without parole gives an inmate no hope, no reason to do anything good. And I give them a lot of credit. It’s remarkable what they did when they had no hope of getting out,” Jesic said.

Lyle and Erik are now awaiting a decision from the state parole board. They also have a separate path to clemency, which is in the hands of Governor Gavin Newsom. A hearing has been set for June 13.

The brothers have previously filed appeals but their biggest push for release began in May 2023, when attorneys filed a habeas corpus petition on their behalf based on new evidence of a letter purportedly sent by Erik to a cousin months before the 1989 killings that referred to Jose’s ongoing sexual assaults. The evidence also included an affidavit by a former member of the boy band Menudo, Roy Rosselló, claiming that he was raped by Jose in the 1980s.

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More than a year later, then-Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón recommended that the Menendez brothers be resentenced and eligible for parole since they were “youthful offenders.” However, Gascón lost the November election to Nathan Hochman, whose office tried to withdraw the resentencing motion, claiming the siblings had no remorse.

“Our opposition and analysis ensured that the Court received a complete and accurate record of the facts,” Hochman said in a press release shared after the judge’s decision. “Justice should never be swayed by spectacle.”

Following the ruling, Erik released a statement obtained by ABC News.

“This has to be the first step in giving people who have no hope in prison some hope,” he said, per the outlet. “My goal is to ensure there are no more people spending 35 years in prison without hope. That possibility of having hope that rehabilitation works is more important than anything that happened to me today.”