The Menendez brothers are one step closer to freedom, but it's not yet guaranteed. Erik and Lyle, sentenced to life without parole for the 1989 murders of their parents, continue to face trial and a parole board review.

Next Steps

A judge in California will decide whether Erik and Lyle Menendez will be resentenced after spending nearly 35 years in prison for the murders of their parents – offering the brothers a possible path to freedom.

Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón announced his support for the brothers' resentencing at a news conference Thursday. “This case will be filed in court tomorrow,” Gascón said. “The judge will make the final decision. The court must agree with my conclusion that they deserve to be resentenced.”

Gascón's office actually filed the motion for resentencing late Thursday. NBC Los Angeles reported. The case is now in the hands of Los Angeles Superior Court Judge William Ryan, who will next schedule a hearing on the motion. However, when this might happen is unclear.

What then?

The judge would then examine it Proof in the case and consider the brothers' actions during their nearly 35 years in prison. Many of her family members did too demanded their release.

Gascón praised the brothers for their behavior during their sentence, which they believed would last the rest of their lives. “Although they didn't think they would ever be released, they embarked on a different journey – a journey of redemption and a journey of rehabilitation.”

Trouble is coming

However, Gascón acknowledged that his office was still divided on the Menendez brothers' case, with some rejecting their claims that they were abused by their parents and that they deserved a new sentence.

“It is very likely that there are members of this office who are present in court and will defy their resentment,” Gascón said. “And they have the right to do so. And we encourage those who disagree to speak out, and the court is the appropriate place to do so.”

The district attorney said he would ask the judge to sentence her to 50 years to life in prison with the possibility of parole. Because the brothers were both under 26 when they committed the murders, they would both be “immediately eligible for juvenile probation,” Gascón said.

Mark Geragos, an attorney representing the brothers, said NBC Los Angeles He hoped that parole would come soon. “I want to bring her home before the end of the year,” Geragos told the station.

After resentencing

If the judge approves the new sentence, the Menendez brothers' case will be reviewed by a parole board.

At Thursday's press conference, Gascón expressed confidence in the brothers' chances. “I believe that they have paid their debt to society and that the system provides the opportunity to have their case reviewed by a parole board. And if the parole period agrees with my assessment, it will be their decision, they will be released accordingly.”

A year of testing

Erik and Lyle were arrested in 1990 for the murder of their parents José and Kitty Menendez. Her first televised murder trial in 1994 ended in a mistrial after the jury was vacated. After a second trial in 1996, they were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Interest in the brothers' case grew following the success of the Netflix series Monsters: The Story of Erik and Lyle Menendez At the beginning of this year – although the Family of brothers Objections to the way they were presented.

Meanwhile, the brothers' lawyers have pushed for the courts to present new evidence that the brothers were motivated by ongoing sexual abuse and trauma. In March also the former Puerto Rican boy band singer Roy Rossello accused her father of sexual abusewhich supports the brothers' longstanding claims.

It also caught the attention of celebrities like Kim Kardashian, visited the brothers in prison and later demanded their release in an essay published by NBC News. “I spent time with Lyle and Erik; They are not monsters,” the reality star announced.

The Daily Beast contacted the Menendez brothers' attorneys but did not receive an immediate response. The Los Angeles district attorney also did not immediately respond.