LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón will ask the judge to resentence Erik and Lyle Menendez, two brothers sentenced to life in prison for killing their parents; a move that could pave the way for their release.

Gascón will request that the brothers’ previous sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole be rescinded and that they be sentenced to 50 years in prison instead; It’s a move that could make them eligible for parole as juvenile offenders because they committed the crime when they were younger. More than 26.

“I have come to a place where I believe it is appropriate under the law not to provoke, and I will recommend that,” Gascón said.

The two brothers were convicted of special circumstances murder, which carries the penalty of life imprisonment without parole or the death penalty. On Thursday, Gascón said he would ask the court to resentence the brothers to murder charges, leaving open the possibility of parole.

“I believe they have paid their debt to society,” he said.

Siblings They were sentenced to life in prison without parole after a jury found them guilty of murdering their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez, in their Beverly Hills home. The 1989 murders and subsequent televised trial sparked documentaries, films and television series, making the brothers two of the most publicly known prisoners.

The brothers had been unsuccessful in their appeals for years, but now they were able to find a path to freedom.

In 1989, Erik and Lyle Menendez bought a pair of shotguns with cash, broke into their Beverly Hills home, and shot their parents while they were watching a movie in the family’s living room. Prosecutors said Jose Menendez was shot five times, including in the back of the head, and Kitty Menendez crawled on the ground wounded before the brothers reloaded the guns and fired the final fatal blast.

Prosecutors argue that the murders were motivated by greed and the brothers’ desire to take their parents’ multimillion-dollar estate.

But during the hearings, Erik and Lyle Menendez detailed what they said was their father’s years of violent sexual abuse.

Earlier this month, more than 20 relatives Some of the brothers pleaded for their release at the press conference. More than a dozen family members were present as Gascón announced his decision Thursday.

“We know this is not an easy decision, but it is the right decision,” said Joan VanderMolen, Kitty Menendez’s sister. “This is about truth, justice and healing.”

During Gascón’s tenure as attorney general, he obtained new sentences for more than 300 people, including 28 people convicted of murder. If approved by a judge, the Menendez brothers would become the highest-profile convicts to have their sentences reduced at the request of the district attorney.

It’s a decision that has already proven controversial and has caused division even within the district attorney’s office.

Gascón stated that there would be members of the office who would oppose attending a future hearing on the case.

“We have people in the office who believe the Menendez brothers should stay in prison for the rest of their lives and who don’t believe they were abused,” he said.

Last year, the duo’s lawyers filed for habeasHe claimed that new evidence supports their claims that they were sexually abused by their father years before the murders.

The file included a letter Erik Menendez sent to his cousin in December 1988 (eight months before the murders) confirming allegations of abuse. It also included a statement from Roy Rosselló, a member of the boy band Menudo. She claimed that Jose Menendez raped her in 1984 When I was 13 or 14 years old.

Gascón’s office has been reviewing the motion and the lawsuit for more than a year. He said the decision was made last Thursday afternoon.

There is no doubt that the brothers killed their parents, but Gascón said the issue was whether the jury heard evidence that their father abused them and whether that evidence affected the outcome of the case.

When the brothers were first tried, evidence of sexual abuse was included, including statements from friends and relatives of the family, resulting in a hung jury.

But when they were tried together again, the jury did not hear much of the testimony supporting the sexual abuse allegations. The two were convicted of first-degree murder in March 1996.

The brothers’ work leading rehabilitation programs while in prison also factored into the decision to make them eligible for parole, Gascón said.

The duo has been working in prison programs for years to help inmates cope with trauma and help those with physical disabilities. They both received college degrees.

“I would never imply that what we are doing here is excusing their behavior. … If you are being harassed, the right way is to call the police,” Gascón said. “Even though they didn’t think they would be set free, they embarked on a different journey; a journey of liberation and a journey of rehabilitation.”

Lawyers representing the brothers described the announcement as a win for their clients, and the family called for their release from prison.

Lawyer Mark Geragos, flanked by the brothers’ relatives at a news conference in the bar below the law office, scoffed at the idea that Gascón had made a politically timed decision. He said his team and prosecutors have been in talks for months, including arranging meetings with family members.

“Today is a monumental, monumental victory on this path,” Geragos said. “If there is a hearing, all the family members behind me will be heard. All of these family members will ask one question: ‘Bring them home.’”

If the recommendation is approved by the judge, the brothers’ fate will still be in the hands of the parole board, which will decide whether to release them. That may be a hurdle, but his lawyers said it’s at least a way forward.

“A straight life sentence with the opportunity to go to the parole board is much better than a life sentence without parole,” said Cliff Gardner, another attorney representing Erik and Lyle Menendez.

Recently, public interest in the case has increased with television series and documentaries focusing on the murders. A Peacock documentary series, “Menendez + Menudo: The Boys Betrayed,” She brought up allegations that RCA Records executive Jose Menendez sexually assaulted Rosselló.

Gascón’s decision was criticized by those who said the move was a political maneuver to bolster his re-election campaign.

Kitty Menendez’s 90-year-old brother, Milton Andersen, criticized the decision to seek new sentences for the siblings. He said Gascón refused to meet with him before announcing his decision to the media.

“Mr. Andersen’s lawyer, Kathy Cady, said in a statement that Andersen was left in the dark and was forced to learn important developments about his sister’s case through the media, rather than being treated with the dignity and respect he deserved.

This week, Cady filed for an amicus curiae brief to oppose the resentencing. He said in a statement that the district attorney was trying to “manipulate the facts for a temporary chance to save his political career.”

Cady was also a leader in two unsuccessful attempts to recall Gascón.

Gascón’s election rival, Nathan Hochman, also questioned the timing of the prosecutor’s action in the case, suggesting he was making headlines to salvage his flagging re-election bid. Polls show Gascón trailing Hochman by as much as 30 percentage points, and a Los Angeles Times campaign finance analysis shows the opponent has raised far more money than the district attorney.

Gascón disputed claims that the decision was politically motivated.

“There is nothing political about this. We were angry at more than 300 people,” he said. “We will continue to be angry at people.”

Geragos noted that the brothers’ petition was submitted months ago, long before Hochman entered the contest in November.

“Before there was any talk of an election, before there was any talk of (Gascón) being on the ballot, this prosecutor took our writ of habeas corpus seriously,” he said.

Surrounded by more than a half-dozen of the brothers’ cousins, many of whom followed Geragos chanting “Enough is enough” and “Bring them home,” the lawyer said each relative, if present, plans to testify on behalf of Erik and Lyle Menendez. It was a trial.

Geragos also suggested that a judge could go beyond Gascón’s recommendation and arraign the brothers for involuntary manslaughter, which would allow them to evade the parole board and be released immediately.

Pointing to the family sitting behind him, he said, “If you are going to talk about victims’ rights, these are the victims here.”

Criminal defense lawyer Dmitry Gorin said at the first trial that the evidence was clear that the murders were premeditated, but given the liberal policies of the district attorney’s office under Gascón, there appeared to be a chance the case would be reviewed.

Considering the support of the brothers’ defense lawyers, it is likely that the judge will accept the prosecutor’s request.

Gorin said, “I give credit to the defense because the application was made on time.” “If it’s filed this December, probably by a new prosecutor, they’re not coming out. Most (district attorneys) in California didn’t let them out.”