Menendez brothers admit guilt, say they've changed as judge resentences them

Almost 36 years after Erik and Lyle Menendez killed their parents in a crime that captivated the nation, they appeared via video to address the Los Angeles judge who would decide whether they could ever be freed from prison.

Almost 36 years after Erik and Lyle Menendez killed their parents with shotguns in a crime that captivated the nation, they appeared via video to address the Los Angeles judge who would decide whether they could ever be freed from prison.

“I killed my mom and dad,” Lyle Menendez, now 57, said at a resentencing hearing Tuesday. “I make no excuses. I take full responsibility.”

On Aug. 20, 1989, the brothers killed their parents, José and Kitty Menendez, at their Beverly Hills home. They were later sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

But after a day of testimony, and after they were backed by support letters from prison officers, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic on Tuesday resentenced the brothers to 50 years to life — a change that will make them immediately eligible for parole.

Erik Menendez, who is now 54, said: "My actions were criminal, selfish, cruel and cowardly.”