Menendez brothers’ resentencing hearing paused over governor’s risk report

A US judge has paused a resentencing hearing to determine whether Erik and Lyle Menendez deserve reduced sentences — and the chance of freedom — nearly 30 years after they were convicted of murdering their parents.

Los Angeles superior court Judge Michael Jesic called for a long recess in the planned two-day hearing so he and lawyers can learn from California governor Gavin Newsom whether they can use his office’s newly released risk assessment report in the proceedings.

Judge Jesic warned that he would not be able to issue a decision quickly.

The brothers were sentenced in 1996 to life in prison without the possibility of parole for fatally shooting their entertainment executive father Jose Menendez and mother Kitty Menendez in their Beverly Hills home in 1989.

The brothers were 18 and 21 at the time of the killings.

Defence lawyers argued the brothers acted out of self-defence after years of sexual abuse by their father.

Prosecutors said the brothers killed their parents for a multimillion-dollar inheritance.

The resentencing hearing is set to centre on whether the brothers have been rehabilitated in prison and deserve a lesser sentence of 50 years to life.

That would make them eligible for parole under California’s youthful offender law because they committed the crime when they were younger than 26.

On Thursday, neither the judge nor the brothers’ lawyers had seen the governor’s report that spurred heated arguments in the packed courtroom.

“I need clarification from the governor’s office,” Judge Jesic said. “This is stupid.”

Prosecutors, who had seen the report, argued they should be able to use it, and filed to postpone the hearing so everyone could consider it.

Menendez lawyer Mark Geragos angrily denounced district attorney Nathan Hochman for discussing the report during a morning news conference.

“What has happened here should never happen in a criminal justice system,” Mr Geragos told the judge. He said he might file a motion to recuse the district attorney’s office.

Deputy district attorney Habib Balian argued that the report, intended for a separate June 13 parole board hearing, was relevant and necessary.

“If there is a report out there assessing the risk of violence, how do we not use it?” Mr Balian said.

Judge Jesic said he was inclined to move forward because of all the relatives, witnesses and observers who had travelled to attend the hearing.

But, he said, given the new issues, “there is no way I’m going to make a decision in the next two days to resentence”.

The governor’s office confirmed that part of the risk assessment was shared with the defence and prosecution for review 60 days before the June clemency hearing, per California law.

They also notified the judge of the status of the report and offered to share it if requested, but said it was not a stand-alone risk assessment.

If the judge shortens their sentences, the brothers would still need approval from the state’s parole board to leave prison.

The brothers watched the proceedings via video link from a correctional facility near San Diego, and could be seen in their blue prison garb on a screen in the courtroom.

They showed no obvious reaction to the arguments.

The case has captured the public’s attention for decades, and the Netflix drama “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story” and a subsequent documentary brought new attention to the case.

Reporters from dozens of media outlets crowded outside the courthouse and vied for space inside the courtroom.

Mr Geragos and lawyer Bryan Freedman, who is representing the Menendez relatives, also denounced prosecutors for showing gruesome crime scene photos without warning family members who were in the room for a hearing last week to determine whether the resentencing hearing would go forward.

“That’s not dignity,” Mr Freedman said. “That’s disrespect. That’s harassment.”

Mr Balian apologised for the lack of a warning, but added, “Erik and Lyle Menendez caused that carnage, not me”.

Mr Geragos and Mr Freedman also decried the DA’s office for taking over the court’s victims’ services arm, and for the lack of any contact between the office and the surviving Menendez relatives.

The extended Menendez family, with the exception of an uncle who died last month, has said they fully forgive the brothers for what they did and want them to be freed.

A resentencing petition laid out by former Los Angeles district attorney George Gascon focuses on the brothers’ accomplishments and rehabilitation.

The brothers’ lawyers say their clients have worked hard over the decades to better themselves and give back to the prison community.

Prosecutors have said the brothers have not admitted to lies told during their trial about why they killed their parents, or that they asked their friends to lie for them in court.

Mr Hochman’s office has also said it does not believe that the brothers were sexually abused by their father and that by speaking about their childhood abuse, they have not taken complete responsibility for the crime.