Relatives and supporters of Erik and Lyle Menendez held a rally calling for the Menendez brothers' resentencing. LiveNOW's Christina Evans discusses the latest with legal analyst Neama Rahmani.
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NewsTranscript
00:00Thanks for staying with us here on Live Now from Bucks. I'm your host Christina
00:03Evans. We do want to continue on with some of our other top stories that we're
00:07now following. We do want to head back to Los Angeles now. I want to show you a
00:11live look there in Southern California as we talk about one of those stories
00:15that's been continuing to capture our attention as the Menendez brothers are
00:20still trying to fight for their freedom after being jailed for more than 30
00:24years. We do know that the family of Eric and Lyle Menendez this week joined
00:28supporters for a rally in a news conference outside of the office of LA
00:34County District Attorney Nathan Hockman on Thursday. They are vowing to continue
00:38the fight for truth and justice. Let's listen in there with our partners at Box
00:4211 in Los Angeles to give us a wrap of what happened at that event and on the
00:46other side we'll be talking with experts to see how the Menendez brothers push
00:50for freedom is going to go. Family and some out-of-town supporters already had
00:56plane tickets to be in LA for this hearing that was postponed. They decided
01:01to go ahead and turn it into a rally
01:05here for the Menendez brothers supporters marching around the Hall of
01:09Justice. Please give the family some space. Family members were scheduled to
01:14be in LA for a now postponed court hearing on the possible resentencing of
01:19Eric and Lyle. The brothers are serving a life in prison sentence for the 1989
01:25killing of their parents Jose and Kitty Menendez. We want the suffering to
01:30end. The only way it does is for Eric and Lyle to come home. The postponed
01:37hearing turning into a rally with formerly incarcerated activists. We're
01:43not just pleading for a second chance for two individuals. We're pleading for
01:48a second chance for those who are being extremely punished without an
01:52opportunity to come home. No punishment. Young supporters from afar. I came from
01:59florida. What makes it so important to you? Um because I believe that victims
02:05should be heard specifically by L. A. County D. A. Nathan Hawkman who wants
02:10the Menendez brothers to retract the claim they killed their parents because
02:15they thought Jose and Kitty were going to kill them after the brothers
02:19threatened to go public with accusations of sexual abuse by their
02:22father. Hawkman is hyper focused on one thing. What they said as scared kids. He
02:27says they need to take responsibility.
02:31Well they have.
02:33He says they need to acknowledge their past mistakes.
02:37Well they have. Most of the family did not march. Although that lady over
02:41there is terry Baralt. She was related to Jose Menendez. They don't want to
02:46make any statement but she wanted to be part of the demonstration. We make
02:51sure that the world knows who Eric and Lyle are now, not just who they were 35
02:57years ago. The D. A. Say he'll still be in court in april to present his case.
03:03But keep in mind the brothers are also said to be in front of the parole board
03:06in june. The parole board supposed to report to the governor whether they
03:11would be a threat to the public if they were to be released in downtown Los
03:16Angeles. I'm Cristina Gonzalez back to you guys in the studio. Our thanks to
03:20Cristina Gonzalez for that report. Do you want to show this post as well from
03:23the new york post again surmising what happened there? That demonstration in
03:28honor of the Menendez brothers. The family though is blasting the
03:31hypocritical quote unquote L. A. D. A. For keeping them behind bars after what
03:36he outlined could lead to their resentencing. So what's important to
03:40note here is that this original date for resentencing has since been pushed
03:44to april 11 to get just a bit more context as to what's happening with
03:48this case. I want to bring into the conversation now legal analyst Nima
03:52Romani. Nima, thanks so much for being with us here on live now from box.
03:56You've been helping us understand and break down the intricacies of this case
04:00for the last few months and what's leading up to their resentencing again.
04:05So now we know the sentencing that was scheduled for this week has been
04:08postponed to april 11th. What's happening there? When will we know some
04:12answers about this?
04:14We'll probably know at that april 11th hearing and this is why there's three
04:19different cases going on right now. And the first is the resentencing petition
04:25which we've been talking about which I'll get to. But before that resentencing
04:28petition was filed by attorney George Gascon who has now been replaced by
04:33Nathan Hawkman. There was a habeas petition that was filed by the Menendez
04:37brothers and their lawyer and that petition argued that the brothers were
04:40acting in self defense because they were abused by their father Jose. So
04:44the first thing that new district attorney Nathan Hawkman did is he held
04:48a press conference and he said that the brothers were not acting in self
04:51defense even if they were abused. That's not a license to kill and he
04:55thought their motive was financial. So that petition will be adjudicated. I
05:00expected to be denied because I do think Nathan Hawkman is right even if
05:05the brothers were abused and I do believe that they were sexually abused
05:08at the hands of their father Jose and that their mother was either complicit
05:13or certainly didn't prevent it from happening under California law. You can
05:17only use deadly force if you're at imminent risk of death or serious
05:21bodily injuries. So the brothers case doesn't fall into the standard
05:25required for self defense. So then we're looking at resentencing and that's more
05:30of an amorphous standard. It's really in the interest of justice. Now we saw
05:36many of the Menendez family members really all of them except for one do
05:41support the brothers resentencing and the resentencing would be life without
05:45the possibility of parole to life with the possibility of parole. Just giving
05:50him an option or the opportunity to make their case before the parole board.
05:55Here's the important thing to know about the California parole board. Governor
05:58Newsom is the ultimate decision maker. Even the parole board recommends parole
06:04for the brothers to be released. Governor Newsom can say yes or no and
06:07that's really the third case that we're talking about. The brothers have also
06:10filed for clemency to be pardoned by the governor. So I think ultimately this
06:16case will come down to what Gavin Newsom decides. He's asked for a report by an
06:22expert to see if the brothers pose an unreasonable risk to the public. That
06:26report should be prepared in the next couple of months and I think ultimately
06:31Gavin Newsom is gonna be the decision maker. This will be a big case because
06:34I think he's gonna run for the oval office in four years
06:40and it will be something we'll continue to watch here and you brought up
06:43several points which make this case just so intricate in itself and I want
06:47to just focus on the D. A. Nathan Hawkman now saying that he wants them
06:51to recant some of those statements again show that they're sorry. Is that
06:56standard for someone who's seeking some sort of resentencing to recant some of
07:01the statements again? The family saying they've already said they're sorry.
07:04They've already apologized and gone at length. What are your thoughts on this?
07:08Well nothing is standard about this case Christina and it was really
07:12interesting what the district attorney Nathan Hawkman was trying to do.
07:16Ultimately it's up to Gavin Newsom like we've discussed and Gavin Newsom in a
07:21recent high profile case denied parole even though the parole board
07:26recommended it for someone named Saron Saron. He of course was an individual
07:30who shot and killed Senator Robert Kennedy and the reason Gavin Newsom
07:35said that he was denying parole was the fact that Saron Saron had not
07:41accepted responsibility and not admitted to the crime that he committed.
07:45So I think it's fair to say that the brothers have served 35 years. They
07:50don't really pose a risk to themselves or anyone. They've had some rules
07:56violations but have otherwise been model inmates. So I think the fact that
08:00Hawkman is focused on this admission this acceptance of responsibility is
08:05really trying to put this on Gavin Newsom and saying well he handled
08:09another high profile case and denied parole because there was no admission.
08:14You should do the same for the Menendez brothers. Now with respect to the
08:17Menendez brothers obviously they've told different versions of the story.
08:21They said originally that it was a mob hit that Jose was sexually assaulting
08:28one of the brother's girlfriends. The story shifted over time obviously at
08:31trial and we're watching it right now. They made the self-defense argument.
08:35So I don't know. Nathan Hawkman do you really want the brothers to come out
08:38and publicly say that they did this because they hated their father. They
08:42wanted to get revenge. There was a financial motive. Will that really move
08:46the needle. Potentially yes. But I think one key thing that came out of his
08:50press conference is Nathan Hawkman said he hadn't met with the Menendez
08:55brothers and that doing so wouldn't change his decision. I think I think
08:59that's something important that has to happen if he really does want that
09:01admission. You should sit down and talk to Eric and Lyle and see what they have
09:05to say. I'm glad you brought that up because I was going to say has he sat
09:08down with him has he spoken to them for him to feel like they don't have this
09:12sort of remorse that he's seeking. But ultimately at this at this point you
09:17say that there's other avenues as well. So you mentioned of course Governor
09:21Gavin Newsom and how he has the ability to grant clemency in this case which
09:26could see the brothers released nearly immediately if that's the case. You're
09:31talking about the fact that he might run for president. This could get a little
09:33political for him of course with all the attention on this case. What move do you
09:37think the governor is ultimately going to take while he knows that there are
09:41folks as we listen in that story from our partners at Fox 11 flying in from
09:46around the country just to be at these hearings. This is very important to
09:50people and they want to see these brothers released. There's a lot of
09:53support for the Menendez brothers right now Christina. It really just goes to
09:57show the power of a Netflix series. Monster has completely changed the game.
10:01If you asked me a year ago I would say no way Eric and Lyle will be released.
10:05But now it's all political and it really started with George Gascon the former
10:10district attorney when he was running for re-election and he was perceived as
10:14being soft on crime. He's the one that initiated all this. If he had just done
10:18it earlier, months earlier, the Menendez brothers would probably be out by now. He
10:23waited too long. He lost the election and now Nathan Hoffman is in and obviously he
10:28does not want to be perceived as being soft on crime. So he's really pulled back
10:33this resentencing recommendation. So whether it's the former district
10:37attorney, the new district attorney or the governor Christina, this whole case
10:42is entirely political and I'm sure the governor wants to do the right thing but
10:47he's probably also thinking this is gonna be a big deal when I campaign for
10:52higher office soon. And when we're talking about what's truly next for the
10:57brothers as well, I'm just showing still some of these photos that we have of the
11:00family and that rally that they held there in Los Angeles. We're hearing from
11:06those outspoken family members who say the Menendez brothers have served their
11:09time. They've done all that they needed to do while behind bars. It's time for
11:13them to come home. But are there any family members still at this point
11:16contradicting that still feeling like they may have done it for more nefarious
11:20reasons like the position that's put out there that they did it only for the
11:24money? There's one notable family member, a relative of Kitty Menendez that does
11:28not want the brothers released but the overwhelming majority of them are in
11:33support and actually they got upset when they met with Nathan Hoffman. They
11:36thought that he was dismissive and they were pleading their case for the
11:40brothers to be released and that meeting apparently lasted three hours. The
11:44families gave one account of that meeting. Nathan Hoffman gave a very
11:48different account but they did not see eye-to-eye. You know, I've talked to folks
11:54that are involved in the Menendez brothers' case. I know their lawyer. I know
11:59Nathan Hoffman. I used to work with him. I mean, they're all fair, reasonable people
12:03but this is the type of case, Christina, that really has really divided a country
12:08and folks that are watching. There are people that think that they're victims
12:11of abuse and they should absolutely be free right now. 35 years is more than
12:14enough. There are folks who are watching the thing. Being sexually abused by your
12:18parent is one of the worst things that can happen. People view them as victims.
12:22Other people think that they killed their parents in a horrific way and not
12:28just Jose, their mother Kitty, for money and they think that these are violent
12:34criminals that should spend the rest of their lives in prison. Let's not forget,
12:36this was a death penalty case. Ultimately, the jurors here in Los Angeles
12:41California spared their life but there are a lot of people that think that
12:45Eric and Lyle should never see the light of day. So this is the type of case that's
12:49really captured our attention but has also really brought out a lot of
12:55opinions on what the fair and just result is here. All right, let's talk
12:59about what's next. The LA County District Attorney's Office motion to
13:02withdraw that resentencing petition is set for April 11th there at the Van Nuy
13:07courthouse but depending on what the court decides, a hearing could be set as
13:12early as April 17th. When that date rolls around, what do you expect to come out of
13:17this case next? What should we be looking for? The news updates to come in the next
13:21few weeks. So what I expect to happen is a judge is going to make a ruling on the
13:26resentencing and there's a few possibilities. The resentencing can be
13:29denied in which case the brothers will still be behind bars without the
13:33possibility of parole. There will be the possibility that they're resentenced to
13:38life with the possibility of parole. Then they have to get before the parole board.
13:41The parole board in California is a little backed up. It may take four, five,
13:45six months for that parole hearing to happen and there's the possibility, albeit
13:50unlikely, the judge says I'm gonna do something different. I'm gonna sentence
13:53them to time served in which case they'll be out in a matter of days. So
13:58those are the three possibilities in this case after that resentencing hearing.
14:02Is there a reason you say it's not so likely that the judge would just simply
14:07sentence them to time served? I think it's less likely because even George
14:12Gascon who initiated this, he didn't recommend a sentence of time served. He
14:17recommended a sentence of life with the possibility of parole. He basically said
14:22let's have the parole board look into this to decide if the brothers should be
14:26released or not. So it's possible but it's unlikely because no one except of
14:31course the family members who are involved in this case have recommended a
14:36sentence of time served so far. All right, well it's certainly a case we're
14:39gonna continue to follow right here on Live Now from Vox. We appreciate Neema
14:44Rahmani, our legal analyst, helping us to break down some of the details in this
14:48intricate case. Thanks so much. Thanks, Christina.