Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman applauded the judge’s decision to deny a request for a new trial. (photo by Tabor Brewster)

On Sept. 15, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge William C. Ryan rejected a request for a new trial for brothers Erik and Lyle Menendez.

The brothers were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in 1996 for the double murder of their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez, which took place in their family home in Beverly Hills in 1989.

In May 2023, the Menendez brothers filed a habeas corpus petition, which sought a new trial based on new evidence. The evidence included allegations by a former member of boy band Menudo that Jose Menendez sexually abused him, and a letter written by Erik Menendez before the murders that alleged the brothers were sexually abused by their father.

While the judge found that the evidence “slightly corroborates” the brothers were abused, he stated in the ruling that it does not warrant a new trial because it “did not negate the finding of premeditation and deliberation and the lying-in-wait special circumstance.”

Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman, who has opposed the release of the Menendez brothers since taking on the case in February, applauded the judge’s decision.

“I have long said ‘not never, but not yet’ when asked about the possibility of resentencing or parole for the Menendez brothers. That decision rests not on public opinion or campaigns, but on their willingness to fully accept responsibility for their crimes and the pattern of lies they spun to conceal them,” Hochman said. “To this day, they have not acknowledged their calculated plan to kill their parents, nor their attempts to suborn perjury from friends to bolster their false self-defense narrative – which included fabrications that their father raped Lyle’s girlfriend, that their mother was poisoning the family and that they sought a handgun the day before the murders to protect themselves. Until the brothers come clean and tell the truth, they will remain imprisoned not only by the walls around them – but by the lies they built themselves.”

In addition to Ryan’s recent ruling, the brothers were denied parole in August following separate hearings. The parole board found that while the brothers did display some signs of rehabilitation, they were not suitable for parole based on infractions committed while imprisoned, including possession of cell phones by both brothers and Erik Menendez’s association with a prison gang and involvement in a tax fraud scheme.

In May, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic resentenced the brothers to 50 years to life in prison with the possibility of parole, which opened the door for the August review by the parole board.

Although their recent attempts at release were rejected, the brothers can reapply for parole in as little as 18 months with good behavior, and Gov. Gavin Newsom may grant clemency at any time in the form of a pardon or commutation.