Parent-killing Menendez brothers back in court: Campaign for freedom gains momentum

Los Angeles, United States: Lyle and Erik Menendez will face a Los Angeles judge via videolink on Monday as the movement to secure their release from life sentences accelerates. The brothers have been imprisoned since their 1993 trial gripped millions with the grim details of the shotgun slayings of their parents, José and Kitty Menendez, in their Beverly Hills mansion.

Prosecutors argued the killings were a calculated grab for their parents' $14 million fortune, but defense attorneys portrayed them as acts of desperation by young men who endured years of sexual and emotional abuse at the hands of their father, with their mother allegedly complicit.

Interest in the case surged this year, fueled by Netflix's hit series Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story. Public fascination has reached such heights that a lottery will determine access to the limited seats in the courtroom for Monday's hearing.

Attorney Mark Geragos is pursuing three legal avenues to secure the brothers’ freedom: a writ of habeas corpus to potentially vacate their convictions, a re-sentencing that could allow for parole, and a clemency request to California Governor Gavin Newsom.

Support for the brothers has also drawn high-profile advocates, including Kim Kardashian, and even sparked a rise in "true-crime tourism" to the site of the infamous murders.

"It's surreal seeing it in person," said Australian tourist Christian Hannah, born nearly 20 years after the killings, who stopped by the Beverly Hills mansion while visiting LA. "The Netflix show made it unforgettable."

The hearing marks a pivotal moment in the Menendez brothers’ decades-long quest for freedom—and a case that continues to divide public opinion.