California Gov. Gavin Newsom tells parole board to assess Menendez brothers' public safety risk
California Gov. Gavin Newsom has directed the state's parole board to investigate whether Erik and Lyle Menendez pose an "unreasonable" public safety risk if released from prison, where the siblings have spent decades for the 1989 shotgun murders of their parents, the governor said in a teaser Wednesday for his new podcast.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom has directed the state's parole board to investigate whether Erik and Lyle Menendez pose an "unreasonable" public safety risk if released from prison, where the siblings have spent decades for the 1989 shotgun murders of their parents, the governor said in a teaser Wednesday for his new podcast.
The announcement comes months after their attorneys filed a clemency request with Newsom's office and days after Los Angeles' top prosecutor said he opposed a separate effort by the brothers seeking to overturn their convictions.
In another bid to secure their freedom, Erik, 54, and Lyle, 57, have sought to have their sentences of life without the possibility of parole reduced through a process known as resentencing.
In the teaser for the "This is Gavin Newsom" podcast," the governor said public safety experts and forensic psychologists will conduct a risk assessment investigation for the parole board to determine whether the brothers pose a public safety threat if released.
The findings of that investigation will be handed over to Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman, Newsom said, and to the Los Angeles County Superior Court judge presiding over their resentencing effort, which is ongoing.
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