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The Menendez Brothers' Sentence Has Changed
From life without parole to an opportunity for freedom, but are there more obstacles to overcome?
Joseph Lyle Menendez (born January 10, 1968) and Erik Galen Menendez (born November 27, 1970) are known as the .
The two Americans were convicted of killing their parents, José and Mary Louise “Kitty” Menendez, at their Beverly Hills mansion in 1989.
After a first trial resulted in a hung jury, the brothers were retried. Both brothers were eventually convicted on two counts of first-degree murder with special circumstances for lying in wait, as well as conspiracy to murder.
In the penalty phase of the trial, they were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Resentencing of both brothers
In a significant turn of events, on Tuesday, May 13, 2025, Los Angeles judge Michael Jesic reduced Erik and Lyle Menendez’s original sentence from life without parole to 50 years in prison.
This decision makes them immediately eligible for parole under California’s youthful offender law, as the brothers were 18 and 21 years old, respectively, when they committed the murders…
