Menendez brothers 'deserve a chance,' relatives say as they push for release

Nearly two dozen relatives of Lyle and Erik Menendez united in Los Angeles on Wednesday to urge the district attorney to recommend the brothers -- who are currently serving life behind bars -- be resentenced.

Lyle and Erik Menendez "were failed by the very people who should have protected them -- by their parents, by the system, by society at large," Kitty Menendez's sister, Joan Andersen VanderMolen, said at Wednesday's news conference.

"Their actions, while tragic, were the desperate response of two boys trying to survive the unspeakable cruelty of their father," she said of the murders. "As their aunt, I had no idea of the extent of the abuse they suffered."

In the 1990s, VanderMolen said, "The world was not ready to believe boys could be raped. ... Today, we know better."

"It's time to give them the opportunity to live the rest of their lives free from the shadow of their past," she said.

Anamaria Baralt, niece of Jose Menendez, added, "If Lyle and Erik's case was heard today, with the understanding we now have about abuse and PTSD, there is no doubt in my mind their sentencing would have been very different."

Behind bars, the siblings "persevered," Baralt said. "They have sought to better themselves and serve as a support and inspiration for survivors all over the world. Their continued incarceration serves no rehabilitative purpose."

The brothers "deserve a chance to heal, and our family deserves a chance to heal with them," Baralt stressed.

The Menendez case dates back to August 1989, when Lyle Menendez, then 21, and Erik Menendez, then 18, shot and killed their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez, in the family's Beverly Hills home.

Prosecutors alleged Lyle and Erik Menendez killed their wealthy parents for financial gain, while the defense argued the brothers acted in self-defense after enduring years of sexual abuse by their father.

The brothers' first trials ended in mistrials. In 1996, at the end of a second trial -- in which the judge barred much of the sex abuse evidence -- Lyle and Erik Menendez were convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to two consecutive life prison terms without the possibility of parole.

Now, the brothers have two tracks to potential freedom.

One track depends on Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón asking for resentencing, based on factors including rehabilitation.

The other track is new evidence Gascón's office is evaluating: allegations from a member of the boy band Menudo who said he was molested by Jose Menendez, and a letter Erik Menendez wrote to a cousin eight months before the murders detailing his alleged abuse.

Erik Menendez's cousin testified about the alleged abuse at trial, but Erik Menendez's letter -- which would have corroborated the cousin's testimony -- wasn't unearthed until several years ago, according to the brothers' attorney, Mark Geragos.

"Given the totality of the circumstances, I don't think that they deserve to be in prison until they die," Gascón told ABC News.

Gascón said he plans to make his resentencing decision this month. If Gascón recommends resentencing, his recommendation will go to a judge to decide whether the brothers will be released, receive a lesser sentence or get a new trial.

Brian Andersen Jr., nephew of Kitty Menendez, said at the news conference that his cousins "are not the villains they've been portrayed as."

The brothers have "shown they are more than their past," he said. "They are survivors and deserve a chance to rebuild their lives. They're no longer a threat to society."

"If they were to come to my house, knock on my door, I would answer that door, I would welcome them in with huge hugs, my wife would make them a dinner and I'd give them a pillow and a place to sleep," Andersen said.