Motion to boot DA’s office from Menendez case dropped; re-sentencing next week
Erik L and Lyle Menendez Photo courtesy of California Dept of Corrections Attorneys for Erik and Lyle Menendez Friday withdrew their motion asking that the Los Angeles County District Attorney s Office be removed from the brothers development saying they want to expeditiously move forward with their bid to have the pair re-sentenced and possibly be circulated from prison The brothers are serving life prison terms without the possibility of parole for the shotgun killings of their parents in the family s Beverly Hills mansion Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic scheduled the hearing on the defense re-sentencing motion to be held Tuesday and Wednesday of next week Defense attorneys for Erik Menendez and his older brother Lyle now had contended in a modern court filing that absent recusal of the District Attorney s Office a conflict of interest would render it likely that the defendants will receive neither a fair hearing nor fair rehabilitation through all related proceedings In a court filing this week Assistant Head Deputy Habib Balian and Deputy District Attorneys Seth Carmack and Ethan Milius countered In this episode there is absolutely no evidence or articulable explanation for any impermissible bias let alone a conflict of interest But in court Friday the brothers defense unit dropped its bid to have the D A s office removed from the affair saying they did not want any more delays in a re-sentencing hearing Jesic then promptly revealed that hearing will be held next week District Attorney Nathan Hochman personally appeared in the Van Nuys courtroom for the hearing and he again questioned Jesic to withdraw an earlier motion that was filed under previous D A George Gasc n s administration in help of a re-sentencing for the brothers Jesic again denied that request Hochman opposes re-sentencing for the brothers arguing they have not accepted complete responsibility for their actions The brothers are serving life prison sentences without the possibility of parole for the Aug shotgun killings of their parents Jose and Mary Louise Kitty Menendez The Menendez brothers claim the killings were committed after years of abuse including alleged sexual abuse by their father In a court petition attorneys for the brothers pointed to two new pieces of evidence they contend corroborate the brothers statements of long-term sexual abuse at the hands of their father a letter allegedly written by Erik Menendez to his cousin Andy Cano in early or late and contemporary accusations by Roy Rossell a former member of the Puerto Rican boy band Menudo that he too was sexually abused by Jose Menendez as a teenager Defense attorneys are hoping to win a reduced sentence for the brothers possibly allowing them to either be published forthwith or at least eligible for parole consideration Meanwhile state parole boards are set to conduct separate hearings June for the brothers then send their reports to Gov Gavin Newsom to help him decide whether the two should receive clemency Interest in the Menendez episode surged following the release of a latest Netflix documentary and dramatic series The governor mentioned that with the exception of brief clips on social media he has not watched dramatizations of the Menendez event or documentaries on it because I don t want to be influenced by them I just want to be influenced by the facts Newsom disclosed City News Arrangement
