Re-sentencing hearing for Menendez brothers to begin this week

Lyle left and Erik Menendez The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation photos are dated February and October respectively Photos courtesy of the California Department of Corrections Roughly two years after an effort began to have Erik and Lyle Menendez distributed from prison a re-sentencing hearing will begin Tuesday for the brothers who are serving life prison terms without the possibility of parole for the shotgun murders of their parents in their Beverly Hills mansion The brothers have spent about years behind bars for the Aug killings of Jose and Mary Louise Kitty Menendez The Menendez brothers claim the killings were committed after years of abuse including alleged sexual abuse by their father The hearing is expected to last two days at the Van Nuys Courthouse The brothers are at this time incarcerated at Richard J Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego In a court petition attorneys for the brothers pointed to two new pieces of evidence they contend corroborate the brothers claims of long-term sexual abuse at the hands of their father a letter allegedly written by Erik Menendez to his cousin Andy Cano in early or late and latest claims by Roy Rossell a former member of the Puerto Rican boy band Menudo that he too was sexually abused by Jose Menendez as a teenager Prosecutors allege the murders were carried out due to greed to acquire their parents money Defense attorneys are hoping to win a reduced sentence for the brothers possibly allowing them to either be distributed promptly or at least eligible for parole consideration Meanwhile state parole boards are set to conduct separate hearings June for the brothers then send their reports to Gov Gavin Newsom to help him decide whether the two should receive clemency Interest in the Menendez circumstance surged following the release of a latest Netflix documentary and dramatic series The governor noted previously that with the exception of brief clips on social media he has not watched dramatizations of the Menendez situation or documentaries on it because I don t want to be influenced by them I just want to be influenced by the facts Newsom declared In October then-Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gasc n revealed he was in favor of the brothers being re-sentenced to make them eligible for parole Since the brothers were under at the time of the murders they could be eligible for parole through the state s youthful offender law Gasc n pointed to the brothers work to help other inmates and bureaucrats assessment that they present a low hazard of re-offending The former district attorney also cited the manageable new evidence about the father s alleged abusive behavior as additional factors in encouragement of new sentences However when he was elected new District Attorney Nathan Hochman promised to re-examine the situation saying he did not sponsorship re-sentencing Hochman contends the brothers have not shown insight into their crimes during their years of incarceration and continue to lie about the alleged abuse Last week attorneys for Erik and Lyle Menendez withdrew a motion asking that the District Attorney s Office be removed from the brothers development saying they want to expeditiously move forward with their bid to have the pair re-sentenced The brothers watched Friday s hearing before Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic via video from the San Diego prison where they are both are serving their life prison terms Attorneys for Erik Menendez and his older brother Lyle now had alleged in the motion that absent recusal of the District Attorney s Office a conflict of interest would render it likely that the defendants will receive neither a fair hearing nor fair cure through all related proceedings But in court Friday the brothers defense club dropped its bid to have the D A s office removed from the scenario saying they did not want any more delays in the re-sentencing hearing We have not craved to waive time defense attorney Mark Geragos stated noting that Hochman was in the courtroom for the hearing Hochman again sought Jesic to withdraw the earlier prosecution motion in patronage of re-sentencing filed by Gasc n But fhe judge again denied the request saying that nothing s really changed Hochman who spoke on behalf of the prosecution for the bulk of Friday s hearing reiterated his opposition to re-sentencing for the brothers arguing they have not accepted complete responsibility for their actions He maintained in court that his decision was not based on a political whim Right now they are not in a position where we would advocate for re-sentencing Hochman notified the judge Geragos argued that the district attorney presented information in court about a not long ago completed psychological assessment of the brothers in violation of the rules and regulations He called Hochman s courtroom presentation a dog and pony show and cited what he called extraordinary rehabilitation by the brothers Geragos mentioned outside court that Hochman s decision to speak on behalf of the prosecution during the Friday court hearing shows the degree of involvement and how personal it is He revealed the defense has the utmost faith in Judge Jesic to do the right thing