Judge allows Menendez brothers resentencing hearing to go forward next week

A California judge on Friday ruled that the resentencing hearing for convicted murderers Erik and Lyle Menendez can move forward next week, after a feud between the previous and current Los Angeles District Attorney's office delayed the proceeding. 

Judge Michael Jesic of Los Angeles Superior Court ruled the hearing, which was initially expected to take place last December, will now occur over two days next week on May 13 and 14, the New York Times reported.

The delay occurred after Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman defeated former District Attorney George Gascon in November and decided to make his own decision about whether to seek resentencing in the brothers' cases. It was then further delayed because of the Los Angeles fires.

Jesic on Friday rejected Hochman's bid to rescind the resentencing request, after Hochman said new information about the brothers' time in prison had come to light in a report. But Jesic said the report did not include a lot of new information. 

The high-profile brothers were previously convicted of murdering their parents at their Beverly Hills home in 1989. But the pair argued that the shooting was committed out of fear that their parents planned to kill them in order to keep them quiet about how their father, Jose Menendez, allegedly sexually abused the younger brother, Erik Menendez, for years.

The hearing comes after some Menendez family members asked the courts to reconsider the sentence because of the alleged abuse, which they believe would have resulted in a less severe sentence, had it been known at the time. 

California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom is also considering clemency for the brothers, if they are not resentenced and released. That hearing is scheduled tentatively for June 13.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.