Menendez brothers are indignant about life on parole, paving the way for freedom

Lyle and Erik Menendez were sentenced to life on Tuesday with a potential parole, laying the foundation for their release after they were sentenced to more than three decades of wills they killed their parents in a Beverly Hills mansion.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael V. Jesic’s decision follows testimony from family members, who said the brothers turned their lives in prison through education and self-help groups. They urged the court to reduce the brothers' verdict on the 1989 murder.

“It was an absolutely terrible crime,” Judge Jesus said, but as shocking as a crime, he was also shocked by the number of correctional officers who wrote on behalf of the brothers, recording support that clearly supported his decision.

“I'm not suggesting they should be released,” he said. “It was not my decision.”

But, he continued, “I do believe they have done enough in the last 35 years to get opportunities.” He said the brothers’ futures will now be in the hands of Gov. Gavin Newsom and state parole officials.

Judge Jesus’ decision was by far the most important legal step for the brothers to win the release, but it was not the last step. In reducing the brothers' sentences, the judge allowed them to be eligible for parole immediately.

Now, the focus will focus on parole officials in the state. As part of Mr Newsom's consideration for the glamor, the brothers have already planned to appear on the board on June 13, a separate process that unfolds in parallel with the ongoing effort.

It is unclear whether the June hearing will address the outrage and lenient requests. A spokesman for Mr Newsom said his office is reviewing the judge's decision and determining the next step.

The brother’s lawyers made only brief statements after the hearing, thanking supporters.

Anamaria Baralt, the brother's cousin who testified Tuesday, faced dozens of cameras outside the courtroom. “I've been crying all day. These are tears of joy,” she said.

The brothers said they never gave up the claim that they killed their parents because they were worried that their parents would kill them first, and prosecutors insisted it was a lie, according to the office of Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman.

The District Attorney’s Office said in a statement posted on its social media platform that the analysis it presented to the court helped ensure the judge “all facts.”

“As with all cases, especially those that attract the public, must be viewed critically,” the statement said. “It should never be lingered by wonder.”

The brothers’ resentful decision toward the brothers was a surprising turn, and in a legend that has attracted American attention for decades. The brothers tried to make a faith in their beliefs for years and said that as time passed, the hopes of their release decreased. As the years pass, the brothers themselves evolve into cultural idols, and as loyal followers of a series of documentaries and documentaries, re-creating their stories to young audiences.

The story of sexual abuse and murder in one of the toughest cities in the United States was irresistible to the media and the public in 1989, and it heralded an obsession with another Los Angeles story-the murder of OJ Simpson.

The brothers said they broke into the nest of a Beverly Hills mansion on a Sunday night in 1989 and killed their parents with a shotgun because they suffered years of sexual abuse by their father. They said they were worried that their parents would kill them to keep the secret of abuse. At that time, Lyle was 21 years old and Erik was 18 years old.

Now, two middle-aged men, brothers, appeared at a hearing on Tuesday in a jail near San Diego, sitting in blue jumpsuits while witnesses later testified on their behalf.

After the judge Jesus said he would resent the brothers – but before he said what the new judgment would be – the brothers made statements. Through the video feed, they are responsible for the crime and apologize to relatives in court, who can cry softly.

Lyle first spoke, saying that all the choices he made in August 1989 were his own, including “choose to reload, return to the study, run to my mother and shoot her in the head.” He said he was responsible for “killing the criminal legal system,” lying to the police, and trying to invite others to lie to him at trial.

He said at the time, he was a young man who was “feared and full of anger” and was ashamed of the sexual abuse that took place in his home in search of someone and seek help.

Erik is also responsible for the crime and says he spent a long time wondering what night his parents must be thinking about, “when their own son shoots them, they must be horrified.”

At the time, the case involved an estimate of policy and culture in the 1990s: the hard measures of crime overflowed prisons in California; the social attitudes about sexual abuse, full of doubts about the brothers’ stories; the trial range of the gavel to papaya TV broadcast; and the late night comics often mocked the brothers as privileged Dilettants.

They landed in the turbulent times of Los Angeles in 1993. The officer who beat Rodney King was acquitted for the attack, catalyzing the deadly riot.

After their first trial, the brothers were tried together with a separate jury – they were on trial for the second time after Mr. Simpson was acquitted.

This time, the two brothers face different rules in court. Camera bans, limited testimony from judges and evidence of sexual abuse. The jury was convicted of murder and they were sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.

In recent years, the brothers have expressed sympathy for many young people who were not alive when they committed crimes. Learning about the case online, they began to believe that the brothers were abused by the criminal justice system and the media and rallied their careers on social media.

Laurel Rosenhall Contribution report.