Could the Menendez Brothers get a new trial?

NBC's Rory O'Neill reports that sexual abuse claims were not introduced into evidence during the original trial, and could be the key to a new trial

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
The Legacy Retirement Group, dot Com phone line, ANBC News Radios,
Rory O'Neil, and the Menendez brothers. This has been a
story that a lot of people probably had forgotten about
up until I think late last year, when the prospect
of those brothers who have been in prison for thirty
years for the murder of their parents, they may be
closer to getting either a reduced sentence rory or even parole.

(00:22):
What's going on.

Speaker 2 (00:23):
There, right? So there was a big hearing, a two
day hearing that was supposed to happen yesterday and today,
but things are being put on the back burner due
to some legal issues. But as you said, Eric and
Lylemannndez were found guilty of killing their parents at their
Beverly Hills home back in nineteen eighty nine. The defense
says that the killings were actually an effort to stop

(00:45):
the ongoing sexual abuse that the two young men had suffered.
They were twenty one and eighteen at the time. Prosecutors
say nonsense that they killed the parents to get their
hands on their multimillion dollar fortune. Well, in those thirty
years in lockup and Lyle have apparently been model prisoners
and really helping fellow inmates try to get back on

(01:06):
the straight and narrow. And this is why there's been
this petition now to essentially have them released with time served.

Speaker 1 (01:13):
So why wasn't the abuse brought up in the original
trial thirty years ago? That may have changed things. It
was sort of kind of just swept under the rug.

Speaker 2 (01:23):
Wasn't it right? And now also not a lot of
evidence to support the claim either, and since the brothers
didn't take the stands themselves, and so that's a big
part of it that there was really nothing to corroborate it.
You know, the case has really gotten highlighted again thanks
to a documentary that popped up on Netflix and this
petition to try to get their sentences reduced again. They

(01:43):
were life sentences, as you said, they've served thirty years already,
and you know, there's some that have said that, okay,
we can reduce the sentences to fifty years, but still
want them to spend a couple more decades behind bars.

Speaker 1 (01:56):
So what's next? Where do we stand now as far
as getting this all worked out?

Speaker 2 (02:00):
Yeah, there were two issues that slowed things down yesterday.
A risk assessment that was done by the government. Also
the DA whether or not he should be removed from
the case. There's going to be hearing on May ninth
on those two issues. Then hopefully they can reschedule this
hearing for the resentencing. By the way, this was going
to happen in January but got delayed because of the
wildfires there La. So this case keeps on twisting and turning.