There’s a new development in the Menendez brothers' case just a month before their next parole hearing.
The judge in the case not only says that the latest evidence makes a compelling case to throw out their conviction, but he wants prosecutors to explain why the convictions shouldn’t be overturned.
That first piece of evidence is a letter written by Erik Menendez to his cousin, Andy Cano. The second is a declaration by Roy Rossello, a member of Menudo, who claimed he was raped by Jose Mendendez.
The declaration, according to the new documents, “counters the prosecution’s argument that Jose was ‘restrained and forgiving,’ ‘not a violent and brutal man,’ and ‘’not the kind of man’ that would abuse his children.’”
Robert Rand, who produced the documentary “Menendez and Menudo: Boys Betrayed,” said he thinks the men now have a “second, very interesting path to freedom.”
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“They could be released from prison solely on the habeas corpus petition,” he said. “This is new evidence, and hard evidence is what gets you out of prison after 35 years of incarceration, not a buzzy TV show. “
Erik and Lyle have already had their sentences changed for murdering their parents from life without parole, to 50-years-to-life.
Prosecutors now have a month to successfully respond to the latest evidence, or the convictions could be overturned.
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