A little less than a month ago, the Menendez brothers’ legal team filed a motion to have Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman removed from their resentencing case. However, on Friday, May 9, attorney Mark Geragos rescinded that motion, calling it a strategic move, according to local media outlet ABC 7.
The move paid off, and the brothers will once again get their day in court on Tuesday, May 13, and Wednesday, May 14.
Erik and Lyle Menendez were arrested in 1990 for the murder of their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez, inside their Beverly Hills home roughly six months earlier. In 1996, they were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
However, their case regained both national and legal attention after new evidence was submitted in October 2024, which the brothers say proves that their father sexually abused them and that they murdered their parents out of self-defense.
Why would Geragos rescind his motion?
According to Geragos, by rescinding his motion to have Hochman removed from the case, the judge could consider another motion regarding the brothers’ “Comprehensive Risk Assessment,” which was drafted by the California Parole Board. Geragos argued that the information detailed in the assessment, which Hochman presented Friday, is not substantial enough to have the resentencing request initially filed in 2024 by former District Attorney George Gascón thrown out.
Hochman attempted to argue that both of the brothers have demonstrated behavior disqualifying them from being released from prison. For instance, Hochman said a psychologist stated that Lyle has a sense of entitlement, displays narcissistic traits, and broke prison rules, according to ABC 7. While Erik has sold and used drugs in prison, had an illegal cellphone, and helped another inmate commit tax fraud.
However, the judge ultimately sided with Geragos and denied Hochman’s request to withdraw the resentencing request, based on those assessments. Judge Michael Jesic ruled that the brothers pose a “moderate risk” to society, should they be released.
Resentencing set for May 13 and 14
Geragos is confident his clients will now receive their resentencing hearing, unless they commit what’s called a “super strike,” or major felony, in prison between now and the date of their next hearings, which are set for May 13 and 14, as well as a parole hearing in mid-June.
Erik and Lyle Menendez maintain that they killed their parents out of self-defense, alleging that their father, a well-known entertainment executive, sexually abused them from a young age. However, prosecutors such as Hochman have argued that the brothers lied about the abuse and murdered their parents to access a multimillion-dollar inheritance. They were 18 and 21 years old at the time of the killings.
