Menendez brothers recommended for re-sentencing 35 years after ...

Erik and Lyle Menendez have been recommended for re-sentencing more than 35 years after killing their parents, a move that could be the first step towards their release. 

Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón made the announcement on Thursday afternoon local time. 

He was joined by members of the Menendez family, who have campaigned for their release for decades.

The brothers were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in 1996, following the 1989 murder of their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez.

Lyle Menendez was 21 and Erik Menendez 18 at the time of the killings.

Mr Gascón said "after very careful review" he would recommend the brothers be re-sentenced for murder, and if approved they would be eligible for parole "immediately". 

During the trial, they said they had been abused by their father physically and sexually, and feared for their lives. 

The claim, met with scepticism at the time, is now seen as significant enough by Mr Gascón to warrant the re-sentencing decision. 

The case will be submitted to a judge on Friday local time, asking for the current sentencing to be downgraded to life with the possibility of parole. 

"This is a case where we've had many people in this office spend a great deal of time [reviewing] the case," Mr Gascón said. 

"I can tell you unequivocally that we don't have a universal agreement.

"There are people in this office that strongly believe [they] should stay in prison for life and they do not believe they were molested.

"And there are people in this office that strongly believe they should be released immediately, and that they were, in fact, molested." 

Lyle Menendez and his brother Erik were both convicted for the shotgun murders of their parents. (Reuters: Lee Celano)

Mr Gascón said the brothers had been subjected to "a tremendous amount of dysfunction" and molestation. 

"There is no excuse for murder, and I will never imply that what we’re doing here is excusing that," he said.

"But I understand that people get desperate." 

He added it was an important chance for "self-reflection". 

"Because often, we don’t believe victims of sexual assault, whether they’re women [or] men," he said. 

"[Our] own implicit and sometimes explicit bias around sexual abuse and sexual assault often leads us to severe injustices in our community." 

This year, a documentary featuring interviews with the brothers and a Netflix docudrama received widespread attention. 

Lyle Menendez is now 56, and Erik Menendez is 53. Both have spent more than 30 years behind bars. 

The case began on August 20, 1989, when the pair fatally shot their parents inside the family's Beverly Hills home.

The brothers' cousin, Anamaria Baralt, was joined by other members of the Menendez family at the district attorney's press conference. 

She said the "brave and necessary" announcement marked a "day of hope" for the family. 

"The DA's decision reflects the truth that has been hidden for so long," she said.

"We stand united in our hope and gratitude. Together we can make sure that Erik and Lyle receive the justice they deserve and finally come home. 

Erik Menendez in 1994.  (Reuters)

"This step gives us all hope that the truth can finally be heard and that Lyle and Erik can begin to heal from the trauma of their past."

This month the district attorney announced new evidence had been brought forward, including a letter written by Erik Menendez months before the murders. 

The letter, written to Menendez's cousin Andy Cano in 1988, alluded to the abuse the brothers alleged they suffered.

"At times I wish I could tell [my mother] about things, you know?" the then-17-year-old Erik Menendez wrote.

"Some day … Especially dad and I, but the way she worships him and tells him everything, [I'm] so afraid she'll tell him whatever I say. I just can't risk it."