Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that the Menendez brothers will hold a hearing in June before the parole committee.
Eric and Lyle Menendez, who have been behind the bar for more than 30 years, recently renewed their fight for freedom, claiming new evidence shows they were sexually abused by their father, Jose Menendez.
Newsom said in a podcast Tuesday that the board will hold an independent hearing for each brother on June 13th and submit a report assessing whether it poses a risk to society if it is released.
“We will submit that report to the judge, which will place emphasis on an independent analysis of whether to proceed with generous applications to support the arrangement of this case.”
In addition to seeking generosity from the governor, the brothers are also pursuing potential hearings that could downgrade their writing and qualify for early release.
But on Monday, the LA County district. Atty. Nathan Hochman threw a wrench at the plan by announcing his opposition to the new sentence.
Old dist. Atty. George Gascon last year recommended that the court reconsidered the sentences of his brother’s previous lives without the possibility of parole and instead gave him 50 years of life. The move may have qualified for immediate parole.
However, Hochman filed a motion in Los Angeles Superior Court on Monday to rescind Gascon’s request, presenting an analysis of the facts of the case that is far less favorable to the brothers, raising questions about the validity of the self-defense claim.
“Menendez’s brothers have been lying about self-defense for over 30 years, claiming the actual fear that their mother and father were trying to kill them on the night of the murder,” Hochman wrote in the motion. “And over the last 30 years, they have not been able to accept responsibility for the vast number of lies they have spoken about in connection with their defense.”
Last month, Hochman announced his opposition to a third possible path to brothers’ freedom, a habeas group submitted by the Menendez defense team in search of a new trial.
The lawyers argue that the new evidence reinforces allegations that the brother was a victim of sexual assault and may have changed the ju judge’s verdict. This included a letter written about the sexual abuse that Eric Menendez endured as a teenager before committing the murder, and a former member of the boy band Menudo, Roy Rossello, was raped by Jose Menendez.
Hochmann pleaded the court to reject the habeas group’s petition, stating it was a matter of conviction, not a sexual abuse allegation. The brothers would have had to have the pressing fear of their parents killing them about sexual abuse revelation for murder to be considered self-defense, he added.
Newsom revealed that he is still interested in reviewing the brother’s generous bids.
In February, the governor asked the parole committee to assess whether Menendez poses an unfair risk to public safety.
“There is no guarantee of results here,” he said on a February podcast. “My office has consistently conducted dozens of reviews of these generosity in dozens, and this is what we’re talking about. [assessment] The process simply provides more transparency. I think this is important in this case. ”
Newsom says he will make a decision about their tolerance requests after reviewing the risk assessment report.
Source link