The Menendez brothers still face major hurdles on the path to freedom

For the first time in nearly three decades, Erik and Lyle Menendez have reason to hope that they could one day live as free men.

In 1989, the Menendez brothers bought a pair of shotguns for cash, went into their Beverly Hills home and shot their parents – Jose and Kitty – while they were watching a movie in the family living room.

Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. George Gascón said Thursday his office would review new evidence that the brothers were abused, a move that could pave the way for a new trial or resentencing and possibly their release.

Their lengthy legal battle captivated audiences across the country until the mid-1990s, as the brothers claimed they were sexually abused by their parents while prosecutors argued they killed their parents for money.

Three decades later, the same debate rages across the country after several popular shows and documentaries brought the case back into focus.

But legal experts say the brothers' path to freedom remains an uphill battle, despite growing calls for them to be released from prison.

The evidence prosecutors want to examine includes a letter allegedly written by Erik Menendez eight months before the murders, as well as claims from another man that Jose Menendez sexually abused him in the 1980s. A judge is also expected to review the case at a hearing next month.

Erik Menendez's wife, Tammi Menendez, expressed her appreciation for the public support on social media Thursday.

“We remain hopeful that this November brings the resolution we have all wanted,” she wrote. “We would greatly appreciate your continued prayers as we await their official response. Thank you for standing by us!”

Laurie L. Levenson, a criminal law professor at Loyola Law School, said the evidence could be viewed by the court as “too little, too late” and insufficient to overturn their convictions or lead to resentencing.

“It’s extremely rare, especially in a case like this,” she said. “This is not a criminal case. It's like, 'Gosh, have I had enough excuses for what I did?' And I would say that's the rarest case of getting relief.”

The district attorney's review will focus on whether recently uncovered evidence undermines prosecutors' confidence in the earlier verdict. Ultimately, prosecutors could opt for a pardon, she said.

Gascón said during a news conference that there was no doubt the brothers committed the murders, but said the question was whether the jury heard evidence that their father abused them.

Mark Geragos, one of the attorneys representing the Menendezes, said the brothers are “literally the poster children for resentencing.”

Geragos said he sent the district attorney a draft memorandum suggesting that option.

“I made a pretty convincing case. In my humble opinion they are entitled to a re-sentencing and I think under the law the sentence could be withdrawn and it could be considered manslaughter and it could be time served,” he said.

Geragos said he is optimistic his clients will be released.

“I hope to invite them to Thanksgiving dinner,” he said.

Evidence of sexual abuse was presented during the brothers' first trial, which ended with a hung jury, but was largely withheld in the second trial, in which they were convicted and sentenced to life in prison.

“Judge [Stanley] Weisberg admitted some evidence of abuse in the first trial, but not in the second, because I think that in his view, even if the defendants had been abused, that would not be enough to justify a defense,” Levenson said.

Matt Murphy, a former prosecutor who worked on sex crimes and capital murder, said that even if the brothers' allegations of sexual abuse were true, that does not mean they carefully planned and carried out the murders of their parents and in the United States The following months went on a buying spree.

They were not mistreated at the moment the murders occurred, he said.

“You may be largely motivated by something else, but if even part of your motive for shooting your mother to death is financial gain, it is first-degree murder with a special circumstance for financial gain,” said he.

Gascón's announcement comes more than a year after Erik and Lyle Menendez filed a writ of habeas corpus asking the court to overturn their 1996 conviction, citing new evidence.

The petition pointed to evidence from the Peacock documentary “Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed,” which made allegations that Jose Menendez sexually assaulted a former underage member of the 1980s pop band Menudo.

The petition also includes details of a recently discovered letter that defense attorneys say was written by Erik Menendez eight months before the 1989 shooting, suggesting that sexual abuse by his father continued into his late teens.

“I never know when it's going to happen and it… drives me crazy,” the letter, filed in court papers, said. “Every night I stay awake thinking he might come in.”

Murphy said he was skeptical about the letter's credibility because it was found decades after the crime and by family members who had publicly supported the brothers.

“Once you get past the Netflix specials and the public fascination with this case, I don't believe the context of this letter, from a purely legal perspective, changes the outcome before the jury or at sentencing,” he said. “I would be very surprised if the court gave this the level of importance that people who watch Netflix think is appropriate.”

Renewed interest in the case has led to an outpouring of support for the imprisoned brothers and discussions about the likelihood of their release.

In an interview with Variety, Ryan Murphy, the co-creator of the hit Netflix series “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story,” speculated that the brothers could be released from prison by Christmas.

“We gave them their chance in the court of public opinion. Basically, we gave them a platform,” Murphy said.

Hundreds of messages of support for the brothers flooded Gascón's live Instagram feed as he gave an update on the case this week.

Reality star Kim Kardashian wrote in a personal essay for NBC News that she hopes the life sentences of the brothers, who served 34 years in prison, could be “reconsidered.” She noted that at the time of her sentencing there were “limited resources for victims of sexual abuse, particularly boys.”

“Systems to support survivors were virtually non-existent, and public awareness of the trauma of men’s sexual abuse was minimal and often clouded by preconceived judgments and homophobia,” she wrote.

While a jury may view abuse allegations in a different light today than they did in the 1990s, Levenson was skeptical it would make a difference in the case.

“There are a lot of things that juries may see differently in defendants' behavior these days, and you wouldn't expect the court to reopen all of those cases,” she said. “The mere fact that a jury today could reach a different verdict than the jury did back then will not meet the legal standards to grant the petition.”