Judge reduces Menendez brothers' murder sentences, putting them a step closer to freedom

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Erik and Lyle Menendez will have a new shot at freedom after 35 years behind bars for murdering their parents, a judge ruled Tuesday.

The ruling from Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic reduced the brothers' sentences from life in prison without parole to 50 years to life, making them immediately eligible for parole. The state parole board must decide whether to release them.

The judge's decision followed months of pushback from prosecutors who opposed resentencing, arguing the brothers hadn't taken adequate responsibility for their crimes. Ultimately prosecutors did not call any witnesses, saying they had presented all of their evidence.

The defense turned to family members and those who knew the brothers since their conviction to speak to their character and rehabilitation. The brothers also addressed the court via video as family members listened on tearfully. Most of the brothers’ family members, including aunts and uncles, have long supported their bid for freedom.

“On Aug. 20, 1989, I killed my mom and dad. I make no excuses and also no justification,” Lyle Menendez said, choking up as he addressed the room. “The impact of my violent actions on my family ... is unfathomable.”

Jesic issued his decision immediately after the brothers spoke. The hearing was slated to last two days, but Jesic made his decision in one, offering the brothers new hope after years of unsuccessful appeals and attempts to win freedom in a case that has captured public attention from the start.

The brothers were convicted in 1996 for murdering their father, Jose Menendez — a powerful record executive — and their mother, Kitty Menendez, in their Beverly Hills home in 1989. The brothers were 18 and 21 at the time. While defense attorneys argued the brothers acted out of self-defense after years of sexual abuse by their father, prosecutors said the brothers killed their parents for a multimillion-dollar inheritance.

While the sentence reduction is a major win for the brothers, defense attorney Mark Geragos said he had been seeking to have their charges reduced to manslaughter, which would have allowed them be immediately released. The judge did not go that far.

“I’m not saying they should be released; it’s not for me to decide,” Jesic said. “I do believe they’ve done enough in the past 35 years, that they should get that chance.”

The brothers have an appearance before the parole board on June 13 as part of a risk assessment report ordered by California Gov. Gavin Newsom to aid in his clemency decision.

Erik Menendez also spoke about taking responsibility for his actions and apologized to his family.

“You did not deserve what I did to you, but you inspire me to do better,” he said.

The judge said he was especially moved by a letter from a prison official who supported resentencing, something the official had never done for any incarcerated person in the 25 years of his career.

The defense called several of the brothers’ cousins, a former judge and a former fellow inmate to the witness stand to testify that the brothers were not only rehabilitated but helped others. Prosecutors cross-examined the witnesses but didn’t call any of their own.

“We all, on both sides of the family, believe that 35 years is enough,” said Anamaria Baralt, a cousin. “They are universally forgiven by our family.”

Diane Hernandez, a cousin who also testified during the brothers' first trial, spoke about the abuse she witnessed in the Menendez household when she lived with them.

“When Jose was with one of the boys … you couldn’t even go up the stairs to be on the same floor,” Hernandez said of the brothers' father.

The Associated Press does not typically name people who say they have been sexually abused unless they come forward publicly.

“They are a real family,” said Mark Geragos, the brothers’ lead attorney, after the hearing. “Real people who have lived through unimaginable horrors. And I’m hopeful and glad that we’re one huge step closer to bringing the boys home.”

Los Angeles County prosecutors argued against the resentencing. Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman has said the brothers had not taken complete responsibility for the crime.

Geragos emphasized that the purpose of resentencing is to “encourage rehabilitation," not relitigate the original crime.

“We have evolved,” Geragos said. “This is not the ’90s anymore. We have a more robust understanding of a lot of things.”

The previous LA County District Attorney George Gascón had opened the door to possible freedom for the brothers last fall by asking a judge to reduce their sentences. Since their conviction, the brothers have gotten an education, participated in self-help classes and started various support groups for fellow people in prison, his office said in a petition.

A former judge who said he considered himself tough on crime, Jonathan Colby, told the court that spending time with the brothers and witnessing their growth made him believe in rehabilitation.

Anerae Brown, who had been formerly incarcerated, cried as he testified about how the brothers helped him heal and eventually be released through parole.

“I have children now,” he said. “Without Lyle and Erik I might still be sitting in there doing stupid things.”

This story has been updated to correct the ruling was issued Tuesday, not Friday, fixes the spelling of Baralt's first name and corrects that the defense attorney, not the judge, wanted the charges reduced to manslaughter.

Attorney Mark Geragos, center, representing Erik and Lyle Menendez, gets a hug as leaves the courthouse after the brothers' resentencing hearing Tuesday, May 13, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

Anamaria Baralt, left, cousin of Erik and Lyle Menendez, left, gets a hug as she leaves the courthouse after the brothers' resentencing hearing Tuesday, May 13, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

Family and supporters of Erik and Lyle Menendez leave court for a lunch break during a hearing in the brothers' case Tuesday, May 13, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman is surrounded by media outside the Van Nuys Courthouse during a hearing in the case of Erik and Lyle Menendez Tuesday, May 13, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

Attorney Mark Geragos, center, who represents Erik and Lyle Menendez, leaves the courthouse during break from the brothers' resentencing hearing Tuesday, May 13, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

Natasha Blasick holds a sign in support of Erik and Lyle Menendez outside the Van Nuys Courthouse during a hearing in the brothers' case Tuesday, May 13, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

Media stage outside the Van Nuys Courthouse for a hearing in the case of Erik and Lyle Menendez Tuesday, May 13, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman arrives in court for a hearing in the case of Erik and Lyle Menendez Tuesday, May 13, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

FILE - Lyle, left, and Erik Menendez leave a courtroom in Santa Monica, Calif., Aug. 6, 1990, after a judge ruled that conversations between the brothers and their psychologist after their parents were slain were not privileged and could be used as evidence. (AP Photo/Nick Ut, File)

FILE - This combination of two booking photos provided by the California Department of Corrections shows Erik Menendez, left, and Lyle Menendez. (California Dept. of Corrections via AP, File)

NEW YORK (AP) — Kamala Harris “wrote off rural America" during the 2024 presidential campaign and failed to attack Donald Trump with sufficient “negative firepower," according to a long-awaited post-election autopsy released on Thursday by the Democratic National Committee.

The committee's chair, Ken Martin, shared the 192-page report only after facing intense internal pressure from frustrated Democratic operatives concerned with his leadership. Martin had originally promised to release the autopsy, only to keep it under wraps for months because he was concerned it would be a distraction ahead of the midterms as Democrats mobilize to take back control of Congress.

On Tuesday, Martin apologized for his handling of the situation and conceded that the report was withheld because it “was not ready for primetime."

Although the autopsy criticizes Democrats' focus on “identity politics,” it sidesteps some of the most controversial elements of the 2024 campaign. The report does not address former President Joe Biden’s decision to seek reelection, the rushed selection of Harris to replace him on the ticket or the party's acrimonious divide over the war in Gaza.

“I am not proud of this product; it does not meet my standards, and it won’t meet your standards,” Martin wrote in an essay on Substack on Thursday. “I don’t endorse what’s in this report, or what’s left out of it. I could not in good faith put the DNC’s stamp of approval on it. But transparency is paramount.”

A spokesperson for Harris did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The initial reaction from Democratic operatives was a mix of bafflement and anger over Martin's handling of the situation.

“Why not say this in 2024, or bring in more people to finish it, instead of turning this into the dumbest media cycle for 7-8 months?” Democratic strategist Steve Schale wrote on social media.

The postelection report, which was authored by Democratic consultant Paul Rivera, calls for “a renewed focus on the voters of Middle America and the South, who have come to believe they are not included in the Democratic vision of a stronger and more dynamic America for everyone.”

“Millions of Americans are suffering from poor access to healthcare, manufacturing and job losses, and a failing infrastructure, yet continue to be persuaded to vote against their best interests because they do not see themselves reflected in the America of the Democratic Party,” the report says.

The autopsy points to a reduction in support and training for Democratic state parties, voter registration shifts and “a persistent inability or unwillingness to listen to all voters.”

Thursday's release comes as Martin confronts a crisis of confidence among party officials who are increasingly concerned about the health of their political machine barely a year into his term. Some Democratic operatives have had informal discussions about recruiting a new chair, even though most believe that Martin’s job wasn't in serious jeopardy ahead of the midterm elections.

The report found that Harris and her allies failed to focus enough on Trump's negatives, especially his felony convictions. This was part of a broader criticism that Democrats' messaging is too focused on reason and winning arguments, “even in cycles when the electorate is defined by rage.”

“There was a decision in the 2024 Democratic leadership not to engage in negative advertising at the scale required,” the report states. “The Trump campaign and supportive Super PACs went full throttle against Vice President Harris, but there was not sufficient or similar negative firepower directed at Trump by Democrats.”

The report continues: “It was essential to prosecute a more effective case as to why Trump should have been disqualified from ever again taking office. The grounds were there, but the messaging did not make the case.”

Trump's attack on Harris' transgender policies were cited as a key contrast.

Specifically, the report suggested the Democratic nominee was “boxed” in by the Trump campaign's “very effective” ad that highlighted Harris' previous statement of support for taxpayer-funded gender-affirming surgeries for prison inmates.

Democratic pollsters believed that “if the Vice President would not change her position – and she did not – then there was nothing which would have worked as a response," the report said.

The report criticized Harris' outreach to key segments of America while condemning the party's focus on “identity politics.”

“Harris wrote off rural America, assuming urban/suburban margins would compensate. The math doesn’t work,” the report says. “You can’t lose rural areas by overwhelming margins and make it up elsewhere when rural voters are a significant share of the electorate. If Democrats are to reclaim leadership in the Heartland or the South, candidates must perform well in rural turf. Show up, listen, and then do it again.”

The report also references Democrats' underperformance with male voters of color.

“Male voters require direct engagement. The gender gap can be narrowed. Deploy male messengers, address economic concerns, and don’t assume identity politics will hold male voters of color,” it says.

President Donald Trump speaks during an event about loosening a federal refrigerant rule, in the Oval Office at the White House, Thursday, May 21, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Former Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a fireside chat on Thursday, May 7, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ty ONeil)

FILE - Democratic National Committee chair Ken Martin speaks during an interview with The Associated Press at DNC headquarters, Jan. 12, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert, File)