Governor Schedules Clemency Hearing in Menendez Brothers Case

California Governor Gavin Newsom said on Tuesday that he has scheduled a clemency hearing for June for Erik and Kyle Menendez, who are serving life sentences for murdering their parents in 1989.

Newsom explained on his podcast, “This is Gavin Newsom,” that Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman’s recent decision not to resentence the Menendez brothers had no bearing on their bid for clemency, which the governor’s office handles. In addition to Monday’s announcement regarding resentencing, Hochman said last month that he opposed the pair’s habeas corpus petition seeking a new trial, according to the Los Angeles Times.

READ: Menendez Brothers Will NOT Be Resentenced, Prosecutor Says

On Monday, Hochman said his analysis of the case has uncovered facts unfavorable to the pair and contradicted their claims of self-defense. Previous prosecutor George Gascón sought to have Erik and Menendez’s sentence of life without parole commuted to 50 years to life, making them eligible for parole. However, Gascón lost to Hochman, who said that the brothers fabricated an alibi and blamed the Mafia for their parents’ murders.

“The Menendez brothers have continued to lie for over 30 years about their self-defense — that is, their purported actual fear that their mother and their father were going to kill them the night of the murders,” Hochman wrote in a recent motion. “Also, over those 30 years, they have failed to accept responsibility for the vast number of lies they told in connection with that defense.”

Hochman said his office will not explore any resentencing options until Erik and Lyle Menendez take responsibility for killing their parents, admit their parents were not planning to kill them, and confess to any lies they told after the slayings.

In 1989, Erik and Lyle Menendez, then 18 and 21, purchased two shotguns with cash and used them to kill their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez, at their Beverly Hills home. Investigators originally suspected the mafia was behind the slayings. However, a break in the case occurred in 1990 when Erik Menendez confessed to a therapist.

Evidence of Erik and Lyle Menendez’s father molesting them was presented at their first trial — which ended with a hung jury. However, those details were not as prominent during the second trial, resulting in their convictions.

The Menendez brothers filed for clemency in October, before Gascón’s loss to Hochman. In November, Newsom paused all proceedings related to clemency as Hochman reviewed the case. However, last month, Newsom asked the parole board to assess whether the brothers would pose a risk to the public if released.

It is unclear what the parole board determined. The Los Angeles Times reported that Newsom said he would decide on clemency after reviewing the board’s report.

[Feature Photo: California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation via AP]