The Menendez Brothers FINDING FREEDOM

After three decades, Lyle and Erik Menendez are closer than ever to getting out of prison - here's what life on the outside will be like

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For years, it seemed like all hope was lost. In 1996, Lyle and Erik Menendez were sentenced to life without the possibility of parole for gunning down their parents, Kitty and Jose, in 1989. Over the next decade, they exhausted all of their appeals. “By 2005, they thought they were going to spend the rest of their lives in prison,” their attorney, Mark Geragos, says. “And they resigned themselves to it.”

But in the past year, everything changed dramatically. The introduction of shocking new details of Jose’s abusive behavior, along with the bombshell Netflix miniseries Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, sparked a groundswell of support for the brothers — from Kim Kardashian to the outgoing LA County DA, who made it clear he believes they have served enough time for their crimes and filed for a resentencing hearing, scheduled for Dec. 11.

At press time, Lyle and Erik’s chances of being released from prison looked promising, via either clemency granted by California Gov. Gavin Newsom, having their murder conviction reduced to manslaughter by a judge, or resentencing by the parole board. “It’s time for them to come home,” Erik’s wife, Tammi, said. But as In Touch’s investigation into what their new life will be like reveals, their first days of freedom will be “very difficult,” criminal justice expert Wendy Feldman tells In Touch. “Because they went away as monsters.”

THEIR SIDE OF THE STORY