"A California judge has rejected a request for a new trial for Erik and Lyle Menendez, saying the allegations that the brothers were sexually abused did not supersede their premeditation and deliberation when they killed their parents more than 35 years ago. The ruling Monday by Los Angeles superior court judge William C Ryan comes just weeks after the brothers were denied parole and shuts down another possible path to freedom for the two who have served nearly 30 years in prison."
"The judge wrote that the new evidence that slightly corroborates the allegations that the brothers were sexually abused does not negate the fact that the pair acted with premeditation and deliberation when they carried out the killings. 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, the judge wrote."
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge William C. Ryan denied a May 2023 petition seeking review of the 1996 convictions of Erik and Lyle Menendez. The petition presented new evidence slightly corroborating claims that Jose Menendez sexually abused his sons. The judge ruled that the evidence did not negate premeditation and deliberation in the 1989 killings of parents Jose and Kitty Menendez. The brothers were 18 and 21 at the time and received life sentences in 1996. A parole panel previously denied release for Lyle Menendez for three years, and the brothers have served nearly 30 years in prison.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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