The Menendez brothers’ path to freedom took another turn as California Gov. Gavin Newsom has withdrawn his request for a clemency investigation.
This move now makes the brothers’ June hearing before the parole board a chance for Lyle and Erik to be granted an early release.
Newsom’s office confirmed to Fox News Digital that the June 13 clemency hearing is now being converted into a parole hearing.
The governor’s office added that Newsom agrees with the Board of Parole Hearings’ recommendation to convert the June 13 clemency hearings to parole hearings, saying that “the clemency application is still considered active.”
MENENDEZ BROTHERS’ FREEDOM IN HANDS OF DEMOCRATIC GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation echoed Newsom’s office and told Fox News Digital that it is converting the June 13 clemency hearings into “initial parole suitability hearings.”
“The Board is providing parties an opportunity to raise objections to this change,” the department said.
Lyle Menendez also commented on the move, saying that the “situation is fluid.”
“I told you all things were fluid. And it was just announced and I can confirm that the Governor has withdrawn his request for clemency investigation and will no longer be entertaining that scenario,” Lyle wrote in post on his Facebook page. “June 13 will be a parole board hearing.”
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“I will say what I have always said. It is very rare for an incarcerated person to be granted parole on their first try. But we move onward,” he continued.
In a bombshell decision on Tuesday, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic slashed the Menendez brothers’ original life-without-parole terms to 50 years-to-life, making Erik and Lyle eligible for parole.
“I’m not suggesting they should be released [on parole]. That’s not for me to decide,” he said.
Jesic’s decision to resentence the Menendez brothers opens the door for a parole hearing to determine whether they should be released.
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Erik and Lyle Menendez were convicted in 1996 of the brutal 1989 shotgun murders of their parents, José and Mary “Kitty” Menendez.
After two high-profile trials, both brothers received life sentences without the possibility of parole. The brothers have spent 35 years behind bars.
In October, Mark Geragos, the brothers’ lawyer, filed clemency documents with Newsom after former Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón asked a judge to reduce their sentences.
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“I strongly support clemency for Erik and Lyle Menendez, who are currently serving sentences of life without possibility of parole,” Gascón previously said. “They have respectively served 34 years and have continued their educations and worked to create new programs to support the rehabilitation of fellow inmates.”
In response to their request for clemency, Newsom directed the state parole board to conduct a “comprehensive risk assessment investigation” of the Menendez brothers.
MENENDEZ BROTHERS ASK CALIFORNIA GOV. NEWSOM FOR CLEMENCY
Newsom described the assessment as a “common procedure carried out by the state.”
“There’s no guarantee of outcome here,” Newsom previously said. “My office conducts dozens and dozens of these clemency reviews on a consistent basis, but this process simply provides more transparency, which I think is important in this case, as well as provides us more due diligence before I make any determination for clemency.”
Fox News Digital reached out to Newsom’s office, which referred to a news conference Wednesday in which he spoke briefly about the parole process for the Menendez brothers and said the process is still unfolding.
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“We started a process, as you know, which was intended to help inform the judge in the resentencing of the risk assessment. We thought that would be prudent to do before any resentencing. That process has unfolded over the course of the last number of months, and forensic psychologists did an assessment of the risk of each individual brother,” Newsom said.
Newsom’s office explained that the legal standard in California for release on parole is whether an inmate poses an unreasonable risk to public safety, which has to be determined before the governor can make a decision on commutations.
“This process doesn’t mean there’s any guaranteed outcome, but it shows we’re doing our due diligence, ensuring transparency, keeping public safety at the forefront, making sure the process is fair for everyone involved and getting closer to a conclusion,” Newsom’s office said.
Newsom’s June 13 parole board hearings are planned to go on as scheduled, and the board will have the opportunity to free the brothers.
Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Neama Rahmani told Fox News Digital on Tuesday that Erik and Lyle Menendez “will likely be freed in a matter of months,” adding that he does not expect “the parole board or Gov. Newsom” to block their release.
Fox News Digital’s Michael Ruiz contributed to this report.
Stepheny Price is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business. She covers topics including missing persons, homicides, national crime cases, illegal immigration, and more. Story tips and ideas can be sent to [email protected]
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