Parent killers, the Menendez brothers are among prisoners getting to enjoy a Halloween party behind bars.
The pair, who have spent the last 34 years in jail for the 1989 shotgun murders of their mum and dad, prepared for a screening of Stephen King’s 1990 IT movie with popcorn and taffy.
A source within the California Department of Corrections told the US website TMZ that Erik and Lyle Menendez would enjoy a night at the movies in the clink.
The party is being thrown as it looks likely the pair will be released following a hearing regarding their resentencing on December 11.
The move follows the hit Netflix docudrama which tells the story of how the pair planned and carried out the execution of their parents at their Beverly Hills mansion shortly after being told by their father that they would be cut out of the will.
In their defence, the brothers claimed in two court cases that they had been sexually abused by their father but after a mistrial a second jury found them guilty of murder.
The resentencing could lead to a parole hearing that would see them freed. The date, set by Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic, comes as prosecutors recommend resentencing, potentially allowing parole eligibility due to their ages at the time of the crime.
District Attorney George Gascón supports a 50-years-to-life sentence, citing the brothers’ educational achievements and community contributions in prison, such as Lyle’s prison beautification program.
However, opposition remains within Gascón’s office and among family members, with arguments expected in court. If resentencing is approved, a state parole board decision will follow, and Governor Gavin Newsom will have 150 days to review any release recommendation.
Separately, a November 25 hearing on a habeas petition could also serve as a potential pathway to freedom, while the brothers’ clemency request to Newsom has garnered support from Gascón’s office.
The Menendez brothers‘ case, recently revisited in Netflix’s Monsters: Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, continues to attract public attention, with Governor Newsom acknowledging his review of the case.
Actor Cooper Koch, the actor who plays Erik Menendez in the hit Netflix series, is among those calling for the brothers to be released.
They were eventually found guilty of the crime but only after a mistrial and were sentenced to life in prison.
During both trials, the brothers claimed they had been sexually abused for years by their father and that their mother knew what was going on.
They claimed they killed their parents in self-defence when they entered their home and shot them multiple times.
The prosecution suggested they killed their mother and father for the money, showing evidence that they had gone on a wild spending spree immediately after the killings.
In the midst of a campaign to have them released, Koch has been visiting Erik, now 53, who has been behind bars at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego, California, for the last 37 years including the period while awaiting trials and verdicts.
The brothers are currently serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole for the 1989 murders of their parents Jose and Mary Louise ‘Kitty’ Menendez.
Koch gives a riveting performance as a young Erik Menendez.
“Preparing to play him was, in a way, preparing to meet him at the same time,” Koch said. “Because in preparing to play him, I developed such a care and true—I just care so much for him.”
The actor also emphasised that he advocates for Erik and Lyle Memendez’s side of their story.
“I believe him, I think he’s an amazing human being,” Cooper continued of Erik. “And so, after playing him, getting to meet him was so rewarding and special and one of the most amazing experiences I think I’ll ever have in my life.”
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