Menendez brothers' attorney seeks to recall murder conviction

The Menendez brothers are one step closer to freedom.

Their attorney Mark Geragos confirmed to KTLA that they will be seeking to recall their murder conviction if a resentencing takes place, and instead ask for the lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter.

The maximum sentence for manslaughter is 11 years, so, if approved, Erik and Lyle Menendez could be eligible for parole and released from prison after spending nearly 35 years behind bars.

Lyle Menendez, then 21, and Erik Menendez, then 18, admitted to fatally shooting their father, Jose Menendez, and their mother, Kitty Menendez, after fearing their parents were about to kill them to stop people from finding out that Jose Menendez had sexually abused Erik Menendez for years, according to the Associated Press.

They were convicted in 1996 without the chance for parole.

However, recently filed evidence supporting allegations of their father’s abuse and a 2024 Netflix television series have sparked a renewed interest in the Menendez brothers, and recently, the brothers’ family came forward to ask that they be released from prison.

On Oct. 24, Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón recommended that the brothers be resentenced for the 1989 killings of their parents.

Gascón said that he would ask for the brothers to be sentenced for murder but made eligible for immediate parole. Gascón said he would re-file the case on Friday.

A judge would have to rule on the request before the brothers could officially be released.

If a judge agrees with the request and the brothers are ultimately resentenced, they would then go before a parole board, which would decide if they would receive parole, according to legal experts who spoke with KTLA.