Los Angeles County District Legal professional Nathan Hochman stated he is requested the court docket to deny the Menendez brothers’ habeas corpus petition, which goals to get a brand new trial or the case tossed out.
Erik and Lyle Menendez filed the habeas corpus petition in 2023 for a overview of latest proof not introduced at trial.
Two new items of proof are on the heart of the petition.
One is a letter Erik Menendez wrote to his cousin Andy Cano eight months earlier than the murders detailing his alleged abuse from his father. The cousin testified in regards to the alleged abuse at trial, however the letter — which might have corroborated the cousin’s testimony — wasn’t discovered till a number of years in the past, in accordance with the brothers’ legal professional.
The second piece is allegations from a former member of the boy band Menudo, Roy Rossello, who revealed in 2023 that he was raped by the brothers’ father, Jose Menendez.
In these reserving pictures taken Oct. 10, 2024, Erik and Lyle Menendez are proven.
CRDC
Hochman defined that the usual for a profitable habeas petition has a number of necessities: You will need to present that it is new proof; you need to present thats it is well timed and the proof couldn’t be found on the time of the trial; you need to present you did not have interaction in a delay by the point you realized of the proof and introduced your movement; the proof should be credible; and the proof should be admissible.
Hochman argues the letter to Cano will not be credible proof.
“If this letter actually existed, the protection counsel would have completely used it on the trial as a result of it could assist corroborate” testimony from Cano and Erik Menendez, Hochman stated at a information convention Friday.
Erik Menendez at his second trial testified for seven days about graphic descriptions of his sexual abuse from ages of 6 to 18 and in addition talked in regards to the sexual abuse his brother skilled from their father, the district legal professional stated.
Lyle Menendez and Erik Menendez throughout their trial in Los Angeles, March 9, 1994.
Ted Soqui/Sygma by way of Getty Photographs, FILE
Requested who he disclosed to, Erik Menendez stated he instructed Cano when he was 12 or 13 years outdated.
Cano — who died in 2003 — testified within the Nineties and relayed that very same info: that Erik Menendez talked about abuse six years earlier than the murders and that was the one communication they’d in regards to the sexual abuse, the district legal professional stated.
That letter was by no means mentioned at both of the 2 trials, Hochman stated.
Erik Menendez claimed he did not know in regards to the letter till a 2015 Barbara Walters particular printed it, however this habeas movement was not filed till 2023, Hochman stated.
The protection on this habeas movement argued that to resolve this case jurors needed to determine if the brothers have been sexually molested by their father — however the jury by no means needed to resolve that query, Hochman stated. As a substitute, the jury needed to decide if the brothers conspired to kill their mother and father, in the event that they killed them, what their frame of mind was, and in the event that they did so, in the event that they acted in self-defense, Hochman stated.
Hochman stated Rossello’s claims fail the admissibility normal for the habeas petition as a result of the brothers did not find out about Rossello’s allegations till latest years, so it couldn’t have influenced their frame of mind through the crime and “couldn’t play a task in self-defense or premeditated homicide.”
The brothers have been convicted in 1996 of the 1989 murders of their mother and father, Jose and Kitty Menendez.
Lyle and Erik Menendez, who have been 21 and 18, respectively, on the time, admitted to gunning down their mother and father within the household’s Beverly Hills residence. The protection claimed the brothers acted in self-defense after enduring years of sexual abuse by their father, however prosecutors alleged they killed for cash.
Lyle and Erik Menendez have been sentenced to 2 consecutive life jail phrases with out the potential of parole.
Erik Menendez along with his legal professional Leslie Abramson and his brother Lyle Menendez in Los Angeles, March 9, 1994.
Ted Soqui/Sygma by way of Getty Photographs, FILE
Moreover the habeas corpus petition, the brothers have been pursuing two different paths to freedom.
One different path is thru resentencing, which Hochman stated his workplace will take care of within the coming weeks.
In October, then-LA County District Legal professional George Gascón introduced that he was recommending the brothers’ sentence of life with out the potential of parole be eliminated, and they need to as an alternative be sentenced for homicide, which might be a sentence of fifty years to life. As a result of each brothers have been underneath 26 on the time of the crimes, they might be eligible for parole instantly with the brand new sentence.
The DA’s workplace stated its resentencing suggestions consider many components, together with rehabilitation in jail and abuse or trauma that contributed to the crime. Gascón praised the work Lyle and Erik Menendez did behind bars to rehabilitate themselves and assist different inmates.
Weeks after Gascón’s announcement, he misplaced his race for reelection to Hochman.
Hochman stated Friday he hasn’t but determined if he is in help of resentencing. The following resentencing listening to is on March 20 and 21.
The third path to freedom is thru clemency.
The brothers submitted a request for clemency to California Gov. Gavin Newsom. In November, Newsom stated he’d defer to Hochman’s “overview and evaluation of the Menendez case prior to creating any clemency selections.”