What’s next for Menendez brothers and their bid for freedom?

The case has garnered widespread interest and led the court to announce they’d hold a lottery to determine which members of the public can attend Monday’s hearing.

Only 16 seats are available. The county is home to more than 10 million people.

If their bid for resentencing fails, they are pursuing other avenues that could lead to their release, including:

Clemency: the Menendez brothers’ defence attorney Mark Geragos filed a clemency request with Governor Gavin Newsom, opening a second potential path to freedom.

Clemency could mean a reduced sentence or even a pardon, but it would not overturn the brother’s convictions.

But the governor has said any decision he makes will be based on what newly-elected district attorney determines after reviewing the case in full.

Habeas Corpus: The Menendez brothers’ last path to freedom hinges on a habeas corpus petition filed last year, which seeks review of new evidence that was not presented at the trial.

It claims their convictions and prison sentences are unconstitutional in light of, what they allege, is newly uncovered evidence that the brothers were the victims of childhood sexual abuse by their father, Jose Menendez.

This includes allegations from former Menudo member Roy Rosselló, who claimed in the 2023 docuseries Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed that he was raped by music executive Jose Menendez.

Another piece of evidence is a letter Erik Menendez wrote to his cousin eight months before the murders detailing alleged abuse, which supports his cousin’s trial testimony.

Using the new evidence, the petition seeks to vacate their first-degree murder convictions in pursuit of a lesser charge such as manslaughter, which could result in an early release from prison.