Menendez brothers smile in latest photos as DA recommends sentencing review

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California authorities have published a couple of new photos Menendez brothers as they’ve crossed a major threshold in their efforts to reduce life without parole sentences – and they’re all smiling.

Eric and Joseph “Lyle” Menendez killed their parents, Jose and Mary “Kitty” Menendez, in a deadly 1989 shotgun massacre by opening fire from behind while they were both watching television in their Beverly Hills living room.

The brothers killed their father because they feared he would be the one to kill them after they threatened to expose him as a child sex abuser, their defense said.

WATCH FOX NATION: THE MENENDEZ BROTHERS: VICTIMS OR VILLAINS?

Eric with gray hair and bald Lyle Menendez in the latest photos.

Lyle Menendez (left) and his brother Eric in the latest CDCR images taken on October 10, 2024. (California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation)

Prosecutors convinced jurors at the 1995 trial that the motive was greed rather than fear for their lives, but current Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón said Thursday he will ask the judge to commute the sentences, clearing the way for a potential release from prison.

PROSECUTOR MENENDEZ BROTHERS ANNOUNCES RETRIEVAL DECISION

“After very careful consideration of all the arguments… I have come to the conclusion that, as a matter of law, resentencing is appropriate“And I’m going to recommend that to the court tomorrow,” Gascón told reporters Thursday afternoon.

An undated photo of the Menendez family on screen during a panel at CrimeCon 2024 in Nashville, Tennessee, on June 2. Brothers Lyle and Eric were convicted of fatally shooting their parents in 1989. (Michael Ruiz/Fox News Digital)

The judge must approve his new recommendation before it goes to the state parole board, which must then schedule a hearing within six months. If the parole board approves their release, Gov. Gavin Newsom will have the final say.

LETTER AT THE CENTER OF THE MENENDEZ BROTHERS’ STATEMENT ON FREEDOM UNDER INTERVIEW

Kitty Menendez’s brother and sister, now both in their 90s, are on opposite sides of their nephews’ fight for freedom.

Joan Andersen VanderMolen, sister of Kitty Menendez, speaks at a press conference at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in Los Angeles, California, USA, October. 16, 2024. (REUTERS/Mike Blake)

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Milton Andersen, 90, is adamantly against commuting his sentence and on Wednesday asked the judge overseeing the case to keep his nephews in prison for the rest of their lives.

Joan Andersen VanderMolen, 92, is among two dozen relatives who have publicly called for the brothers’ release.