LA judge to decide whether the Menendez brothers should be freed

After months of delays, a hearing is due to start to decide whether Erik and Lyle Menendez should get a chance at freedom after serving nearly 30 years in prison for the double murder of their parents.

A Los Angeles judge will preside over the resentencing hearing that is expected to last two days.

If he shortens their sentences, the brothers would still need approval from the state’s parole board to get out of prison. They could then potentially go free on time served.

They were sentenced in 1996 to life in prison without the possibility of parole for murdering their father Jose Menendez and mother Kitty Menendez in their Beverly Hills home in 1989.

The brothers were 18 and 21 at the time of the killings.

While defence lawyers argued the brothers acted out of self-defence after years of sexual abuse by their father, prosecutors said the brothers killed their parents for a multimillion-dollar inheritance.

Due to wildfires in the LA area, and disputes between LA prosecutors and defence lawyers, the hearings have been delayed for months.

The case has captured the public’s attention for decades — and last year, the Netflix drama Monsters: The Lyle And Erik Menendez Story and documentary The Menendez Brothers brought new attention to the case.

Supporters of the brothers have flown in from across the country to attend rallies and hearings in the past few months.