LOS ANGELES (AP) — A judge will decide Monday whether new evidence warrants a re-examination of convictions of Erik and Lyle Menendez in the shooting deaths of their parents in their Beverly Hills home more than 30 years ago.

The brothers were convicted of murdering José and Kitty Menendez in 1989 and sentenced to life in prison without parole. While their defense lawyers argued at trial that they had been sexually abused by their father, prosecutors denied the claim and accused them of killing their parents for money. In the years that followed, they appealed their convictions several times, without success.

Today, at 53 and 56 years old, Erik and Lyle Menendez make a new offer of freedom. Their lawyers filed a petition for habeas corpus – a request that a court review whether a person is lawfully detained – in May 2023, asking a judge to review new evidence of their father’s sexual abuse. “Newly discovered evidence directly supports the defense presented at trial,” the motion states.

Recent Netflix drama releases » Monsters: The Story of Lyle and Erik Menendez » and the documentary “The Menendez Brothers” in 2024 brought renewed public attention to their fate. Members of the public will have the opportunity to win a seat in the courtroom to get a glimpse of the brothers, who will appear virtually.

Prosecutors new sentencing recommended for the brothers last month, saying they have worked on redemption and rehabilitation and demonstrated good behavior inside the prison.

Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón held a news conference less than two weeks before Election Day, calling for new sentences of 50 years to life. This could make them immediately eligible for parole because they were under 26 when they killed their parents.

Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic is expected to consider the request for resentencing on December 11but on Monday he will first address the evidence of abuse raised in the habeas petition. Immediate freedom is a possible outcome; the judge can also rule on the merits of the evidence. And if the brothers don’t get relief in court, they can hope that California’s governor will grant them clemency.

The new evidence includes a letter Erik Menendez wrote in 1988 to his uncle Andy Cano, describing the sexual abuse he suffered at the hands of his father. The brothers asked their lawyers about it after it was mentioned on a Barbara Walters special in 2015. The lawyers were unaware of the letter and realized it had not been presented during their trial, making it new evidence that they say supports allegations that Erik was sexually abused by his father.

New evidence emerged when Roy Rossello, a former member of the Latin pop group Menudo, recently testified that he was drugged and raped by José Menendez, the boys’ father, when he was a teenager in the 1980s. Menudo said was signed under RCA Records, where Jose Menendez was director of operations.

Rossello spoke about his abuse in the Peacock documentary series “Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed” and provided a signed statement to the brothers’ lawyers.

If these two pieces of evidence had been available at the brothers’ trial, prosecutors could not have argued that there was no corroboration of sexual abuse, or that their father José Menendez was not the “kind of “man who would abuse” children. the petition argues.

Although clemency could be another path to freedom for the brothers, California Governor Gavin Newsom said last week that he won’t make a decision until new Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman reviews the case. Hochman, a Republican-turned-independent who unseated progressive Gascón on Dec. 2, said he wanted to carefully review the evidence before making a decision.

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