Menendez brothers ask California Governor Newsom for clemency

Eric and Joseph “Lyle” Menendez, the Beverly Hills brothers who shot their parents from behind in 1989, are asking California Gov. Gavin Newsom for clemency less than a week after the Los Angeles district attorney told a judge that their sentences were prison sentences should be commuted. decreased.

Their lawyer, Mark Geragos, filed the papers Monday with the support of Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón, according to the latter’s office.

The governor’s office said it could not discuss details.

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“Pending clemency applications are confidential and we cannot discuss individual cases,” a spokesperson told Fox News Digital.

Both brothers are serving life sentences without the possibility of parole, but Gascón’s plea last week cleared the way for the judge to give the brothers lighter sentences.

Gascón recommended a sentence of 50 years to life, which would have made them immediately eligible for a parole hearing. He said he opposes going one step further and reducing crimes from first-degree murder to manslaughter.

Then on Wednesday he publicly called on Newsom to show clemency and release the brothers before the resentencing process plays out before a judge.

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“I strongly support clemency for Erik and Lyla Menendez, who are currently serving life sentences without the possibility of parole,” Gascón said. “They served 34 years respectively, continued their education and worked to create new programs to support the rehabilitation of inmates.”

The district attorney, who is up for re-election in less than a week, sent a separate letter to the governor in support of each brother.

Read Gascón’s letter of support Eric Menendez

The killings were deliberate. The brothers approached their parents with shotguns while they were both watching television at 10:30 p.m. They had to go to the car to reload their weapons before fatally shooting their mother, who was trying to flee the bloody crime scene after being shot. .

Regardless of what happens with their clemency requests, Newsom will still have the final say on whether they should be released.

Read Gascón’s letter in support of Lyle Menendez

Even if the parole board approves their release, the governor has veto power.

Timeline of the Menendez brothers murder case

The brothers claim they shot their father, former RCA Records executive Jose Menendez, in self-defense, claiming they thought he was going to kill them after they warned him they planned to expose him as a child sex abuser.

They also killed their mother, Mary “Kitty” Menendez, who was sitting next to Jose eating ice cream and watching television during the ambush.

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Their first trial ended in a mistrial when the jury could not agree on their fate. After a second trial in the mid-1990s, in which some evidence of alleged sexual abuse was excluded, jurors agreed with prosecutors that their motive was greed.