After spending more than 30 years behind bars for killing their parents, Lyle and Erik Menendez are lucky to be released from prison.

The 1989 murder case, which captured the nation’s attention for decades, reopened this fall when the Los Angeles attorney general supported the brothers’ request for resentencing.

Di move fit allows dia immediate release if a judge and the parole board approve it.

But the path to freedom must first encounter some obstacles.

The Di brothers will appear in court on Monday to discuss the Dia case.

We learn more about what happened with their attempted resentencing, and two other ways the Menendez brothers could regain their freedom.

Jose and Kitty Menendez were found dead in the Beverly Hills mansion after shooting them 13 times in August 1989.

Dia’s sons – Erik and Lyle – call the police, they tell authorities they arrive home to find their parents dead.

The brutal nature of the crime leads authorities to believe the crowd might be affected.

But the brothers begin to attract attention with their behavior. They spend a lot, including buying Rolex watches, gambling and partying.

A confession to a psychologist to expose them. The doctor’s girlfriend secretly records his confession and reports it to the authorities.

In March 1990, the brothers were charged by the police. They went to trial in 1993 and the brothers admitted they committed the murders, but claimed they acted in self-defense.

They describe years of emotional, physical and sexual abuse – including from my father, José, we are a music and film executive in Hollywood.

Lyle and Erik testify that they confront their parents about the sexual abuse and that it can get serious and they believe their parents are planning to kill them.

Family members testify about the abuse they witnessed, but no one said they used their eyes to see the sexual abuse.

Prosecutors say money is why the parents have a fortune of $14 million (£10.8 million).

The first trial ended with the judge unfit to render a verdict and a new judge took up the case, but a second trial in 1995 led to their convictions on first-degree murder charges.

Fast forward nearly three decades later, and public interest is no longer resurgent, after a hit Netflix drama and docuseries. Celebrities like Kim Kardashian and Rosie O’Donnell publicly support their brothers’ release.

More than two dozen members of the Menendez family made a public appeal to release Erik and Lyle.

These family members say the boys are suffering horrific sexual abuse at the hands of their father and are not a threat to society.

Kitty Menendez’s sister, Joan Anderson VanderMolen, says “the whole world is not ready to believe that boys can be raped, or that young men can be victims of sexual violence.”

She had to say now “we know better” and “a jury today will not impose such a harsh sentence”.

But the family isn’t completely on board.

Kitty Menendez’s brother’s lawyer, Milton Andersen, calls them “cold-blooded” and says “their actions are destroying their family and leaving a trail of grief that will not last for decades.”

“They shoot Jose six times and Kitty ten times, including a shot in the face after Erik reloads.”

Mr. Andersen believes his nephews should remain in prison for “mean deeds,” according to his lawyer, Kathy Cady.

Current Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón has agreed to review the case and, by the end of October, is recommending that the brothers be given a lower sentence so they can immediately benefit from ‘a conditional release.

Gascón says my decision is influenced by several factors, including the brothers’ rehabilitation efforts during their time in prison.

Court records from the IM office highlight the brothers’ educational accomplishments – both earned multiple degrees – and their contributions to the community, such as Lyle Menendez’s creation of the GreenSpace prison beautification program.

Gascón also notes that with today’s deeper understanding of the impact of sexual and physical abuse on children, he thinks the trial could probably do with a different approach.

But Gascón’s critics say he chose to get involved in the matter only as a last-ditch effort to help get polling numbers up when he runs for re-election.

As we lose to Nathan Hochman, tell us not to let this matter go to waste.

The new prosecutor promises to be tougher on crime. We will take office on December 2, and the important hearing to consider the potential resentencing of the Menendez brothers is scheduled for December 11.

The change in leadership of the district attorney’s office does not raise questions about the future of enforcement efforts.

Mr. Hochman said he did not want to delay the Dec. 11 sentencing hearing, but that could happen, so he will have plenty of time to review the case, including reading the court transcripts. original trials and disciplinary records from the prison of the two brothers.

“We are going to ask for the minimum amount of time necessary to do this work, because we owe it to the Menendez brothers, we owe it to the victims’ family members, we owe it to the public to make this decision correct,” he said. declared. an interview with ABC News for the United States.

We also wonder about the political role that should be played in Mr. Gascon’s decision to support this new conviction.

If the judge ultimately approves the resentencing, the case will go to a parole board, which will determine whether they can be released on parole. The Di panel will read Dia’s psychological evaluations, review investigators’ letters and hear testimony from surviving family members.

The Di Menendez brothers are expected to appear virtually on Monday.

This case attracted great interest and led to the court announcing that they would hold a lottery to determine which members of the public could attend.

The lottery is scheduled to take place early Monday on the courthouse steps in Van Nuys, in northern Los Angeles County.

Only 16 places are available. The county is home to more than 10 million.

If the attempted resentencing fails, they will pursue ODA avenues that could lead to Dia’s release, including:

Clemency: The Di Menendez brothers’ defense attorney, Mark Geragos, files a pardon request with Gov. Gavin Newsom, opening a potential second path to freedom.

Clemency can mean a reduced sentence or even a pardon, but it cannot overturn the brothers’ convictions.

But the governor says any decision he makes is based on the newly elected district attorney’s decision after reviewing the case in its entirety.

Habeas corpus: The Di Menendez brothers’ latest path to freedom is based on a habeas corpus petition they filed last year that seeks to examine new evidence that was not presented for trial.

They say the convictions and prison sentences are unconstitutional in light of what they allege and newly discovered evidence that the brothers were victims of childhood sexual abuse by their father, José Menendez.

This includes allegations from former Menudo member Roy Rosselló, who we claim for the 2023 docuseries Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed, that they were raped by music director Jose Menendez.

Another piece of evidence is a letter Erik Menendez wrote to my cousin eight months later for alleged abuse-related murders, which supports my cousin’s testimony at trial.

Using new evidence, the petition seeks to overturn first-degree murder convictions in favor of a lesser charge, such as manslaughter, which could result in early release from prison.

The two brothers married while serving life sentences without the possibility of parole.

Lyle Menendez has been married twice. My first marriage, to former model Anna Eriksson, in 1996, ended in divorce after she allegedly discovered she had been having affairs with women.

In 2003, we married magazine editor Rebecca Sneed in a prison ceremony. They don’t usually avoid the spotlight, but they describe me as a supportive and private partner.

Erik Menendez married Tammi Saccoman in 1999, after a pen-pal relationship that blossomed into romance. Tammi, who was married before, understood her commitment to Erik.

For 2005, she published a memoir entitled They said we’d never make itwe talked about our relationship. Despite the difficulties of marrying a man in prison, Tammi considers her marriage fulfilling, calling it a unique but strong partnership.

She appeared in court in Los Angeles with District Attorney Gascon when she made an announcement about the new sentence and wrote for X, formerly known as Twitter, the next day.

“Yesterday was a difficult and emotional day,” she wrote on X on October 25. “I am grateful to DA (George) Gascón, for my courage in calling for resentment for Erik, I am understandably disappointed that I did not go further to act on my own initiative. I believe that Erik and Lyle are not serving enough time. time in prison.”