Menendez brothers' family hold rally outside of LA County DA's office advocating for their release
Members of a family-led initiative in support of Erik and Lyle Menendez called out Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman on Thursday morning, accusing the prosecutor of failing to recognize the work the brothers have done behind bars to better themselves.
The Justice for Erik and Lyle Coalition held a news conference and rally outside of Hochman's office in downtown LA. Several family members spoke to a crowd of reporters telling them they would not stop fighting for justice in the brothers' case.
"If the DA Hochman wants to make this a political issue, we are going to make sure the world is watching," said Anamaria Baralt, a family cousin.
Baralt said Erik and Lyle should not be denied a second chance and the sexual abuse they suffered should not erased or overlooked.
Hochman has been vocal about his opinion that the brothers should not be released from jail and a few weeks ago, asked the court to withdraw former DA George Gascón's prior resentencing motion.
A few weeks ago, Hochman held a news conference where he said his office is prepared to go forward with the court's initiated resentencing hearing in the brothers' case. He explained that his request to withdraw the prior DA's motion is because he believes it did not thoroughly consider whether the brothers have taken responsibility for their crimes.
He listed examples of lies he alleges the brothers have maintained since their convictions in 1996.
"They've apologized multiple times to all of us standing here. They've owned and accepted every ounce of their actions," said Tamara Goodell, a family cousin.
The family claims that Hochman has allowed politics and personal bias to affect his decision-making in the case. They allege Hochman is approaching the case with an outdated narrative instead of focusing on how much progress they have made in 35 years.
"At every turn, we feel like DA Hochman has dismissed us, ignored us and quite frankly treated us like we don't matter," Goodell said. "It feels like he is more interested in punishing Erik and Lyle for childhood lies than actually looking at the facts and following the law."
Family members were also joined by several criminal justice reform advocates who were formerly incarcerated. They said even though people have committed crimes, they should be given an opportunity to turn their lives around.
Last week, the brothers' resentencing hearings were rescheduled for April 17 and 18, without another court date on April 11.
On June 13, a clemency hearing is expected to take place as the brothers continue to explore several options for early release. In February, Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered the state parole board to perform a risk assessment to determine if they continue to pose a risk to public safety.
Newsom said he will take the board's report and the hearing into consideration as he decides whether to grant the brothers clemency.
The brothers' attorneys have also filed a habeas petition, to attempt another path toward freedom. Their attorneys asked the court to toss out their first-degree murder convictions and grant a new trial.
Hochman's office asked the court to deny their petition claiming the credibility of alleged new evidence helping their case has been called into question many times.
Although Erik and Lyle have admitted to shooting their parents to death in their Beverly Hills home in 1989, they have maintained that they did so in self-defense. The brothers have said they feared for their lives after suffering years of sexual and physical abuse.
"If they were to finally come forward and unequivocally and sincerely admit and completely accept responsibility for their lies of self-defense and the attempted suborning of perjury they engaged in, then the Court should weigh such new insight into the analysis of rehabilitation and resentencing — as will the People," Hochman said.
Hochman responded Thursday with the following statement:
In going through an extensive and comprehensive review of the Menendez case, part of that effort involved listening to the Menendez family members for over three hours and hearing their strong feelings about releasing the Menendez brothers. While I sympathize with their feelings, my duty is to follow the facts and the law in this case and in every case.
I have laid out in two over 85-page written positions with the Court why we don't believe the facts and the law show that the Menendez brothers have met the legal standards for a new trial in the habeas petition and the legal standards for resentencing. I have shown how the District Attorney's Office is willing to reconsider its resentencing position if the Menendez brothers come clean for the first time in over 30 years in admitting the lies concerning their central defense (they murdered their parents because they thought their parents were going to kill them that night) and their suborning perjury with the lies that their father was a violent rapist, their mother tried to poison them, and they tried to get a handgun the day before the killings.
We look forward to making our arguments to the courts, who will have the final say on these issues, rather than on the sidewalk steps. The Menendez brothers and their family members can always go directly to Governor Newsom, who is not bound by the same legal standards, and make their arguments to him to grant clemency, commute the sentences, and release the Menendez brothers immediately.
