Lyle Menéndez and Erik Menéndez's extended family is asking for their release from prison as new Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman prepares to take office in December.
Bryan Freedman - the attorney for 24 extended family members of the Menéndez brothers' parents, Kitty and José Menéndez - issued a statement on behalf of the group to Us Weekly on Thursday, November 7.
"The 24 family members I represent are both victims and the family of those that have been sentenced. They should no longer have to suffer," Freedman began. "It's time Erik and Lyle Menendez are released. For theirs and their family's sake. These men have served their time and proven themselves to be exemplary citizens during their incarceration despite no hope of release. It's time they and the family are allowed to heal."
The statement continued: "Childhood sexual abuse is not gender based, and a failure to recognize that sets an extremely dangerous precedent. Politics should not stand in the way of doing the right thing. I would find it hard to believe Nathan Hochman would feel differently. The family of the victims and my firm will continue to exercise their victims rights and are cautiously optimistic that the DA, the DA elect, the Governor, and anyone committed to upholding true justice will join us."
Freedman's statement comes on the heels of Hochman's comments to CNN about the siblings' resentencing plus possible parole recommendation, for which D.A. George Gascón announced his support in October. Gascón's recommendation came amid the renewed interest in their case following the premieres of Netflix's Monsters: The Erik and Lyle Menéndez Story and the documentary The Menéndez Brothers.
However, after Gascón, 70, was defeated by Hochman, 60, in this week's election, Hochman said there could be a delay in the case, although he considers it a "high priority" situation. The D.A. elect is expected to take office on December 2, and the Menéndez brothers' hearing, which was set by Gascón, is slated for December 11.
"Before I can make any decision about the Menéndez brothers' case, I will need to become thoroughly familiar with the relevant facts, the evidence and the law," Hochman said in a statement to the outlet earlier this week, noting that he will have to review "confidential" prison files for Erik, 53, and Lyle, 56, transcripts from their trials, speak to prosecutors, defense counsel, law enforcement and more.
He added, "If I ask for a delay, it won't be a delay for delay's sake because I think the Menéndez brothers, the victims, family members, the public deserve to have a decision done as soon as it can be done in a thorough manner."
Erik and Lyle were convicted of murdering their parents in their Beverly Hills, California, home in 1989 when Erik and Lyle were 18 and 21, respectively. The brothers claimed they were abused by their parents; however, details of the alleged abuse were withheld during their 1995 trial. (The case initially went to trial in 1993 but the jury was unable to reach a verdict.)
They were ultimately sentenced to life in prison without parole in 1996.