LA County district attorney to announce decision in decades-old Menendez brothers’ murder case Thursday

Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón is expected to announce his decision Thursday afternoon on whether to recommend resentencing in the case of Erik and Lyle Menendez, who were convicted of murdering their parents more than three decades ago.

Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón is expected to announce his decision Thursday afternoon on whether to recommend resentencing in the case of Erik and Lyle Menendez, who were convicted of murdering their parents more than three decades ago. Gascón previously said he is reviewing the case and expects to make the decision by the end of October, but on Tuesday, he told CNN’s Jake Tapper he planned to do so by the end of the week. Gascón plans to make his announcement at a news conference at 1:30 p.m. PT in Los Angeles, his office said. A judge will ultimately decide on the brothers’ case, and a hearing on the matter has been scheduled for November 26. The hearing stems from a defense petition citing what the Menendez brothers’ attorneys argue is new evidence, as well as a recent California law on resentencing in which the court can take into consideration sentences in comparable cases. The judge can also consider whether the defendants were victims of psychological or physical abuse, whether they are rehabilitated and whether they are a danger to society. The reexamination of the case comes more than 35 years after the fatal shooting of Jose and Kitty Menendez in their Beverly Hills home. Their sons, Lyle and Erik, who were 21 and 18 at the time, were arrested less than a year later, in 1990, and accused of first-degree murder.