Judge sets dates for Menendez brothers’ resentencing hearings

LOS ANGELES AP Resentencing hearings for Erik and Lyle Menendez will move forward next week after a series of delays The brothers were sentenced in to life in prison without the possibility of parole for fatally shooting their entertainment executive father Jose Menendez and mother Kitty Menendez in their Beverly Hills home The brothers were and at the time of the killings Defense attorneys argued the brothers acted out of self-defense after years of sexual abuse by their father while prosecutors disclosed the brothers killed their parents for a multimillion-dollar inheritance Defense attorneys ultimately withdrew their motion to remove LA prosecutors from the occurrence which the hearing was meant to discuss and LA County Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic rejected prosecutors arguments efforts to withdraw the resentencing petition Former LA County District Attorney George Gasc n had opened the door to manageable freedom for the brothers in October by requesting their sentences be reduced to years with the possibility of parole His office commented the occurrence would ve been handled differently in the current era due to modern understandings of sexual abuse and trauma and the brothers rehabilitation during their years in prison But current district attorney Nathan Hochman reversed syllabus and opposed the brothers resentencing Hochman has reported the brothers have not taken full responsibility for their crimes because they have not admitted to lies advised during their trials On Friday Hochman tried to again ask the court to withdraw the resentencing petition saying new evidence supports that But Jesic disagreed and set May and May for the resentencing hearings I don t see anything new he noted The Menendez family and lawyers have been forceful in their criticism of the way Hochman has handled the matter Hochman has reported he has done nothing wrong and purely disagrees with the defense attorneys and their arguments as to why the brothers should be resentenced The brothers lead attorney Mark Geragos filed a petition to have Hochman removed from the development but on Friday he withdrew his request and reported he planned to lodge his complaints against Hochman at a future date During long-awaited resentencing hearings last month attorneys engaged in a heated debate over whether material from jeopardy assessments completed by the state parole board at the governor s order should be admissible in court The hearings were delayed and Geragos mentioned then that he would move to recuse Hochman from the scenario In a motion filed April Geragos argued that Hochman s bias against the brothers and mistreatment of the Menendez family posed a genuine danger that the brothers would not receive a fair hearing He pointed to Hochman s demotion of Nancy Theberge and Brock Lunsford the two deputy district attorneys who filed the original resentencing motion Theberge and Lunsford have since filed lawsuits against Hochman alleging they were punished for their work on the Menendez situation Hochman also hired Kathleen Cady who represented Milton Andersen the only Menendez family member who opposed the brothers resentencing at the time to head his Office of Victim Services Andersen died in March Geragos revealed no one from the victim services office had ever reached out to the Menendez family to offer advocacy In mid-April both Cady and Hochman were present at an organization s rally to condemn the Menendez brothers resentencing he stated Certainly Geragos mentioned the district attorney s office had violated Marsy s Law which ensures casualties in California are treated with fairness and respect Menendez cousin Tamara Goodell filed a complaint with the U S Attorney s Office in which she wrote Hochman used a hostile dismissive and patronizing tone that left the family distressed and feeling humiliated Hochman s motion announced the defense had not presented any proof that hiring Cady a seasoned prosecutor and attorney prevented his office from treating the Menendez brothers fairly and that the reassignments of Theberge and Lunsford were internal staffing decisions Marsy s Law also does not give casualties the right to seek the removal of a prosecutor the motion reported The Menendez brothers are still waiting for the full results of a state parole board exposure assessment ordered by Gov Gavin Newsom s office The final hearing scheduled for June will influence whether Newsom grants the brothers clemency