Erik and Lyle Menéndez were forwarded on Tuesday to 50 years of life in prison, which makes them eligible for probation, the last step in a battle of years for the brothers who try to be released after 35 years after bars.
The probation process will be long and could take years.
Erik and Lyle Menéndez were initially sentenced to life imprisonment without probation for the 1989 murders of their parents, José and Kitty Menéndez. They have the support of more than 20 family members in their efforts to be released.
The brothers saw the highly anticipated resentment hearing on Tuesday by video of the prison and gave their own statements to Judge Michael Jesus.
“I killed my mother and my dad,” Lyle Menéndez told the judge. “I don’t give excuses.”
He also admitted to having committed Perjury by lying in court in the 90s. He apologized to his family for years of lies and the shock and pain of crimes.
In this archive photo of April 12, 1991, Lyle, Left, and Erik Menéndez present to the court a preliminary hearing held in Beverly Hills, California.
Kevork Djansian/AP, file
“I committed an atrocious act,” Erik Menéndez told the judge. “My actions were criminals, selfish and cowardly … without an excuse. There is no justification for what I did.”
He admitted to have lied for years and apologized.
“I have made a long way on this path” of redemption, said Erik Menéndez, adding: “I will not stop trying to make a difference.”
“This was absolutely a horrible crime,” said the judge. He pointed out that it was moved by letters from the prison guards and is surprised by what the brothers have achieved.
The lawyer of the brothers, Mark Geragos, said after the Court: “I hope that we are a big step closer to bringing children home.”
“This encourages people who are imprisoned to make the right decisions, to take the right way,” Geragos said, adding: “It’s just a mutual benefit on many levels.”
Menéndez Primo Anamaria Baralt praised the rehabilitation of their cousins, telling journalists: “Ultimately, we are here today with this result due to Erik and Lyle. Because they chose to live their lives clearly and a service purpose that the judge was impressed.”
Geragos called several relatives from Menéndez to the stand at the Audience on Tuesday, including Baralt.
Through the tears, Baralt begged Jesus to release his cousins, and pointed out that time is running out to meet with older family members.
“They are very different men” who when they committed the murders, said Baralt, and added that “their transformation is remarkable.”
During the interrogation, Baralt told prosecutors that the brothers have assumed all the responsibility of the crimes and that Lyle Menéndez admitted to having asked a witness to be in the trial. But Baralt admitted that they have not recognized some aspects of the case for her, since the prosecutors argue that the brothers have not admitted until the reach of their crimes and cover -ups.
A retired judge who worked with therapy dogs said at the stage that the brothers are considered leaders and that they changed their views on the rehabilitation of inmates. He said he used to punish the defendants, but due to the brothers and their work to help the elderly and other inmates, he now believes in rehabilitation.
The prosecution did not call any witness.
The resontent decision of Jesus follows the recommendation made in October by the then district prosecutor of Los Angeles County, George Gascón.
Gascón recommended that the life prayers of the brothers without probation, and said that they should be sentenced by murder, which is a 50 -year sentence to life imprisonment be eliminated. Because both brothers were less than 26 years old at the time of crimes, they are eligible for probation immediately under California’s law.
The Gascón office said that their resentment recommendations take into account many factors, including rehabilitation in prison and abuse or trauma that contributed to the crime. Gascón praised the behavior of the brothers in prison, saying that programs were rehabilitated and began to help other inmates.
This combination of two reserve photos provided by the California corrections department shows Erik Menéndez, on the left and Lyle Menéndez.
California corrections department through AP
In November, Gascón lost his commitment to re -election against Nathan Hochman, who in March presented a motion to withdraw the request for resentment, calling the personal defense statements of the brothers starts from a litany of “lies.” The judge denied Hochman’s request.
The resentment audience on Tuesday was a confrontation between Geragos and Hochman, who wants to keep the brothers behind bars.
“The problem is never for ressence,” Hochman told ABC News in an exclusive interview on Monday night. “It is not yet.”
“The Menéndez brothers have not cleaned with the total reach of their criminal conduct, their cover -up, their lies and their deception,” Hochman said outside the court on Tuesday morning.
“When and if they do, and they do it sincerely,” Hochman said, they would be “ready to resort.”
Meanwhile, Geragos told reporters outside the Court on Tuesday: “There are no two best candidates in the state of California at this time to resort to Erik and Lyle Menéndez.”
“It is a unicorn style situation in which you have horrible crimes, of which no one is moving away, but also notable, remarkable, almost incomparable rehabilitation and redemption,” he said.
A hearing was held on Friday to determine whether the resentment case must include information on the recently completed risk assessment of the California probation Board, which was carried out as part of a separate clemency route. The risk assessment occurred at the request of Governor Gavin Newsom as part of the brothers’ clemency offer; The brothers are chasing multiple ways of freedom, and the path of clemency is separated from the resentment path. Newsom can grant clemency at any time.
His next appearance in the Court for the case of Clemency is June 13.
The risk assessment said that Erik and Lyle Menéndez represent a moderate risk for the community if they are released.
The evaluation revealed that the brothers had illegal cell phones in prison, among many other violations, although many are not recent. However, Erik Menéndez had a phone as recently as January of this year, what Hochman stressed during the resentment effort when he should have been in his best behavior.
The defense said that Erik Menéndez had an article for violence 25 years ago and Lyle Menéndez has not had any.
The judge said he would take part in the risk assessment.
