FRESH RAGE
Erik Menendez’s wife lashes out at governor over clemency decision as she insists brothers have become ‘political pawns’
Last month, the current district attorney asked a judge to resentence the brothers
THE wife of convicted killer Erik Menendez has hit out at California Governor Gavin Newsom after he delayed his decision to grant clemency to the two brothers.
Democratic Governor Newsom announced he would hold off on deciding whether to grant clemency to Erik and Lyle Menendez until the new Los Angeles County District Attorney, Nathan Hochman, had reviewed the case.
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But reacting to the decision, Tammi Menendez, the wife of Erik, slammed Newsom's move.
"It sounds like this case is being used for political maneuvering rather than focusing on the real issues at hand," she wrote on X.
"It's frustrating when important matters become pawns in a larger game."
The Menendez brothers were sentenced to life in prison without parole in 1996 for the 1989 murders of their parents, José and Mary Louise "Kitty" Menendez, at their Beverly Hills home.
Last month, the current district attorney, George Gascón asked a judge to resentence the brothers.
The brothers also petitioned the governor for clemency, and Gascón wrote a letter in support of their request.
But this month, Mr Gascón lost his reflection bid to former federal prosecutor Nathan Hochman, who vowed to be tougher on crime.
In a statement from the Governor's Office, Newsom said: "The Governor respects the role of the District Attorney in ensuring justice is served and recognizes that voters have entrusted District Attorney-elect Hochman to carry out this responsibility.
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"The Governor will defer to the DA-elect's review and analysis of the Menendez case prior to making any clemency decisions."
Hochman has publicly said he will carry out his own review of the case and that he may ask the Los Angeles Superior Court judge overseeing the resentencing petition to delay a December 11 scheduled hearing.
Never-before-seen excerpts from 2017 interview with Lyle Menendez set to air as brothers' resentencing verdict looms
DA-elect Nathan Hochman said in a statement, "Once I take office on December 3, I look forward to putting in the hard work to thoroughly review the facts and law of the Menendez case, including reviewing the confidential prison files, the transcripts of the two trials, and the voluminous exhibits as well as speaking with the prosecutors, defense attorneys and victim family members.
"This is the same type of rigorous analysis I have done throughout my 34-year career in criminal justice as a prosecutor and defense counsel, and the same type of thorough review that I will give to all cases regardless of media attention."
Lyle, then 21, and Erik, then 18, admitted to fatally shooting their parents, but have always claimed they acted in self-defense.
The brothers said they feared for their lives as their parents wanted to stop them from revealing José had sexually abused Erik for years.
Timeline of the Menendez brothers case
Erik and Lyle Menendez have been serving a life imprisonment sentence without the possibility of parole since July 1996.
The brothers were convicted of shooting their parents to death in their Beverly Hills home in August 1989.
Timeline:
August 20, 1989 - José and Kitty Menendez are found dead from multiple shotgun wounds.
March 8, 1990 - Lyle is arrested outside his parents' Beverly Hills mansion.
March 11, 1990 - Erik turns himself in to police after flying back into Los Angeles from Israel.
July 20, 1993 - The highly publicized trial of Lyle and Erik begins and ends weeks later in a mistrial.
October 11, 1995 - Lyle and Erik's second trial begins.
March 20, 1996 - The Menendez brothers are convicted of two counts of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder.
July 2, 1996 - Lyle and Erik are sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole and sent to separate prisons.
February 2018 - Lyle is transferred to the San Diego prison, where Erik is held.
April 4, 2018 - Lyle was moved into the same housing unit as Erik - the first time the brothers were reunited in over 20 years.
May 2023 - The attorney representing Lyle and Erik files a habeas petition after Roy Rosselló, a member of the Puerto Rican boy band Menudo, made sexual abuse allegations against Jose Menendez.
September 19, 2024 - Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story releases on Netflix.
October 3, 2024: Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón said his office was reviewing new evidence in connection with Lyle and Erik's convictions.
October 7, 2024 - The Menendez Brothers documentary film comes out on Netflix.
October 16, 2024 - Family members of the Menendez brothers hold a press conference begging for the siblings to be released from prison.
October 24, 2024 - Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón recommends the brothers be resentenced.
December 11, 2024 - The Menendez brothers are set to go before a judge in a scheduled hearing.
They have spent nearly 35 years in prison but, if found guilty of manslaughter instead, they could be eligible for parole.
In a recent interview with , DA-elect Hochman outlined his plans for the Menendez case.
"You have to look, in that case, at thousands of pages of confidential prison files, you have to review thousands of trial transcripts from months-long trials, and you have to speak to the prosecutors, law enforcement and the defense counsel…and the victims’ families," he said.
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“Only then can you be in a position to determine whether resentencing is the remedy in this situation or whether what is asked for in the resentencing is the appropriate request."
Hochman went on, "I’m not in that position now, but I can tell you if I do have to make that call, I will do the hard work to make the right decision."
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