Family members of Erik and Lyle Menendez have filed a complaint against the Los Angeles District Attorney’s office, claiming it violated a victim’s protection rights law after showing graphic crime scene images in court. 

The Justice for Erik and Lyle Coalition, a family-led initiative advocating for the release of Erik and Lyle Menendez, announced that it has filed a formal complaint, accusing District Attorney Nathan Hochman’s office of violating Marsy’s Law, which provides rights to crime victims. 

The family said the filing follows the DA’s “unexpected and graphic display” of crime-scene photographs at an April 11 court hearing that led to the brothers’ aunt, Terry Baralt, being hospitalized.

“We never imagined we would have to fight to be treated with respect and dignity. But last Friday, our entire family was once again blindsided,” the family wrote in a statement.

The brothers have resentencing hearings scheduled for April 17 and 18 in the killings of their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez, whom they gunned down in their Beverly Hills home in 1989.

Lyle, left, and Erik Menendez sit with defense attorney Leslie Abramson in Beverly Hills Municipal Court during a hearing, Nov. 26, 1990. (AP Photo/Nick Ut)

The district attorney wrote in his motion that he believes the Menendez brothers “have repeatedly lied about the case, their parents, and their interactions with witnesses.”

Their first trial ended in a mistrial, when jurors couldn’t agree on their fate. After a second trial in the mid-1990s, in which some of their evidence about the alleged sexual abuse was excluded, jurors agreed with prosecutors that their motive was greed. 

If the judge decides to resentence the Menendez brothers, it will then be up to the state parole board to consider their release.   

Because they were under 26 years old at the time of the murders, under current California law, new sentences of 50 years to life would immediately make them eligible for a parole hearing. 

They are already scheduled to appear before the board on June 13 as part of a comprehensive risk assessment report ordered by California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is considering the brothers’ clemency request – a separate potential path out of prison.

“We lost José and Kitty, and we live with that grief every single day. But we also now know the years of suffering and trauma that Erik and Lyle went through that none of us fully understood at the time,” the family explained. “That doesn’t mean that we condone their behavior, it doesn’t mean that Erik and Lyle don’t live with regret every single day, that they haven’t apologized to all of us – having spent the last 35 years becoming better men worthy of a second chance at life. It also doesn’t mean that we’ve stopped mourning. It means we’ve chosen to hold space for both loss and forgiveness.

“Life is not black and white. It is messy and painful and complicated. But believing in redemption doesn’t mean we’ve stopped being victims. It doesn’t mean we should be treated with contempt.”