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Erik and Lyle Menendez’s hopes for a new trial have been dashed.
On Tuesday, L.A. County Superior Court Judge William Ryan rejected their request in a 17-page-response, explaining that the new evidence isn’t strong enough.
According to NBC Los Angeles, Ryan wrote, “The court finds that these two pieces of evidence presented here would not have resulted in a hung jury, nor in the conviction of a lesser instructed offense.”
“Neither piece of newly discover [sic] evidence is particularly strong,” Ryan went on. “The evidence alleged here is not so compelling that it would have produced a reasonable doubt in the mind of at least one juror or supportive of an imperfect self-defense instruction.”
After the judge’s decision, Lyle’s Facebook account wrote, “The fight continues. To claim that another rape victim of Jose Menendez would not have affected the decision of at least one juror is quite the exercise in mental gymnastics. And to claim that the writing of Erik was also meaningless would likewise get a gold medal in the mental gymnastics category. Onward!”
The news comes weeks after Erik and Lyle were denied parole. They will be eligible again in three years.
The parole board denied parole for Lyle, citing that he was still a risk if released.
A similar reason was offered the following day for the court’s denial of Erik’s parole.
According to ABC 7, Parole Commissioner Robert Barton told Erik, “I believe in redemption or I wouldn’t be doing this job… but based on the legal standards, we find that you continue to pose an unreasonable risk to public safety.”
In 1996, Lyle and Erik were convicted of murdering their parents. They were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
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