Legal experts say Erik and Lyle Menendez are relying on a multiple strategy as the brothers seek to resent their parents’ California murder.
The brothers held their first grudge hearing in Los Angeles on Thursday and returned to court on May 9 for trying to get out of jail for killing parents of parents Jose and Kitty Menendez.
Los Angeles attorney Tre Lovell told Fox News Numbers that the defense will focus on three main strategies: the brothers’ recovery, the testimony of the character witnesses, and reexamine their sexual abuse that claims they are children.
“They have changed since the crime,” said Lovell. Post-conviction work, including a college degree from UC Irvine, leading a self-service prison program, and launching support programs such as Green Field and Hospice Initiative.
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Lyle and Erik Menendez are seen as young people, covering their shadow puppets. The brothers are currently in life imprisonment for their parents José and Mary Louise “Kitty” Menendez. (Ronald L. Soble/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
“The criteria for resentment are focused primarily on post-conviction behavior to ensure that the defendant has changed and recovered and has no threat to the public,” he said.
In supporting their request, the defense is expected to provide testimony to prison guards, supporters and family members, including those who have once opposed the release.
“The fact that family members support their release is very powerful now,” Lovell added.
Watch: Defence lawyer showing “tragic” photos
New Jersey Attorney David Gelman showed a recent defense fight back at a hearing last week against prosecutors using graphic crime scene photos.
Gellman told Fox News numbers that the defense made a good argument. “They say the horrible pictures violate Mary's law, which should protect the rights of the victims. ”
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The defense claims that the brothers, 85, was traumatized by watching graphic photos of the crime scene. She was hospitalized after the hearing.
“We are frustrated that Terry Baralt has been hospitalized and his cruel and careless behavior in court in the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office is in critical condition,” a statement from the family said. “No physical pain prevents her from staying there for her nephew.
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“I don't want my family to see these images,” Judge Michael Jesic said in court Thursday.
Gellman said the defense's audience was not the public opinion, but the judge. He said drawings of District Attorney Nathan Hochman's office as “over-attitude or defense” could help support the decision, which would benefit the brothers bid for freedom or reduce the judgment.
At the hearing on November 26, 1990, Lyle and Left sat in Beverly Hills City Court with defense attorney Leslie Abramson. (AP Photo/Nick UT)
Galeman said the Comprehensive Risk Assessment (CRA) report, a psychological test ordered by Gov. Gavin Newsom's office, remains the biggest obstacle to the defense.
Newsom's office told Fox News Digital that the risk assessment will be completed on June 13, 2025. They said their office notified Jesic of the status of the CRA report and asked to share with the court if requested.
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“The judge has said that he didn't rule until he saw the CRA report,” Gailman said. “If this is an even argument, the report will give the scale a hint in one way or another.”
On April 17, 2025, a resentment hearing against Lyle and Erik Menendez was held at Van Nuys Court in Los Angeles. (Derek Shakes Fox News Numbers)
Neama Rahmani, former federal prosecutor and president of West Coast trial attorney, said the CRA report, while important, was not a decisive factor in judges’ deliberations.
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“The risk assessment report is what the parole board should consider. It's not a factor of being violated,” he explained. “The factor of indignation is the age of Erik and Lyle at the time of the murder, the victims of sexual abuse, prison conduct and rehabilitation.”
Rahmani said that by focusing on these factors and transferring the risk argument to the parole committee, the defense strategically directs the judges to make decisions that could make parole possible without declaring their free agents today.
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Left Erik Menendez and his brother Lyle are in front of their Beverly Hills home. (Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
What's next?
The Jesuits announced Thursday that they will reconvene on May 9.
After the decision, brothers' lawyer Mark Geragos filed a motion for review against Hochman. Abstention motion requires individuals to stay away from the case because potential conflicts of interest or bias prevent them from operating impartially.
Watch Fox Country: Merendes Brothers: Victim or Villain?
The Menendez brothers and their supporters have been urging a resentment hearing, saying they were sentenced to life imprisonment in 1996 for murdering their parents on their parents. Beverly Hills returned home in 1989.
Since then, Lyle and Erik Menendez Different narratives of murder More stories than their lawyers told in the 1990s.
Their first trial ended in a crime, when jurors were unable to reach a consensus on their own destiny. After a second trial in the mid-1990s, some evidence from them So-called sexual abuse Excluded, the juror agreed that the prosecutor's motive was greedy.
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If the judge decides to feel resentful to the Menendez brothers, it will be considered for release by the state parole board.
Stepheny Price and Mike Ruiz of Fox News Digital contributed to the report.
