LOS ANGELES — An evaluation considering the potential danger Erik and Lyle Menendez may pose if released from prison found they are at "moderate risk" of committing violence, officials said Friday.
Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman disclosed the findings from "comprehensive risk assessments" as the judge weighing the brothers' resentencing request said he is determining how to incorporate those findings into the proceedings.
The assessments, which rank inmate risk levels as low, moderate or high, were conducted by psychologists as part of a separate possible path to freedom that the brothers have sought through a bid for clemency with California Gov. Gavin Newsom. Newsom ordered the assessments earlier this year.
The brothers' resentencing request will determine if they should receive lesser prison terms for the 1989 shotgun killings of their parents, José and Kitty Menendez. Erik, 54, and Lyle, 57, have served more than three decades in prison since they were convicted of first-degree murder in 1996.
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic set a hearing on the matter for May 13 and 14. If Jesic finds that the brothers should be resentenced, they could be eligible for parole immediately.
The brothers have said they killed their parents in self-defense after Lyle Menendez confronted their father about sexually abusing his younger brother.
Prosecutors have described the killings as cold-blooded and financially motivated.
Their case gained renewed public attention after a Netflix miniseries and documentary about their lives and Peacock's “Menudo + Menendez: Boys Betrayed,” which included a former member of the Puerto Rican boy band accusing José Menendez of raping him. (Peacock is owned by NBCUniversal, the parent company of NBC News.)
In court, Hochman highlighted parts of the assessments, noting that Erik was found with a smuggled cellphone in January, while Lyle was found with a smuggled device in November. Both violations occurred after Hochman's predecessor, George Gascón, concluded in October that the brothers had been exceptional inmates and recommended resentencing.
Hochman has opposed that recommendation, saying there are 16 “unacknowledged lies” the brothers have told about the killings. Among them, he has said, was their account that they killed their parents in self-defense.
Hochman has cited those alleged lies in an unsuccessful effort to withdraw Gascón's recommendation. On Friday, citing the risk assessments, the district attorney tried again to withdraw the recommendation but was denied.
Speaking to reporters, Hochman cited the psychologist and said: "If someone is willing to risk a rule violation while involved in resentencing, what does that say about conforming to standards of law outside a structured environment?"
Psychologists found that Lyle displays narcissistic and antisocial characteristics and minimizes rule-breaking, Hochman said in court. Erik remains vulnerable to the influence of others and is not willing or able to self-monitor, Hochman said, citing the evaluation, and his "willingness to violate institutional rules speaks to his immaturity."
Mark Geragos, a lawyer for the men, told reporters after the hearing that the cell phone violations do not constitute a "super strike" — a serious felony crime — and should not deter Jesic from resentencing them.
Geragos described Hochman's opposition to resentencing as an effort to "undercut what is 35 years of remarkable work by both brothers" in prison.
Jesic was also expected to rule on an effort to remove Hochman from the resentencing proceedings after the defense cited what it described as a conflict of interest — a claim Hochman called a “drastic and desperate step” that avoided dealing with the facts of resentencing.
Geragos withdrew the motion to disqualify during Friday's hearing and Jesic did not rule on it.
