stance allegation from the brothers’ original conviction, allowing for the reduced sentenced of 50 years to life. Jesic noted that the new sentence means the brothers’ fate is now “up to the parole board and the governor.”

Both brothers spoke at length via video from prison in San Diego, apologizing for their actions and expressing regret to relatives and even to their former neighbors in Beverly Hills. They also both gave emotional testimony about their work to turn their lives around and help fellow inmates.

“I killed my mom and dad,” Lyle Menendez, 57, said in the opening of his 15-minute statement to the court. “I make no excuses. I take full responsibility for my choices.”

He listed some of those choices: “the choice to shoot my mom and dad in their own home,” “the choice of making a mockery of the legal system by soliciting perjury.”

“I am deeply ashamed of who I was,” he said, adding that when he originally received the life-without-parole prison sentence in 1996, “I knew I deserved the suffering to come.”

Deputy District Attorney Habib Balian argued forcefully against any change to the brothers’ sentence, telling the judge that the pair had still not “fully understood the depth of their crime” or taken accountability for their efforts to recruit friends to lie on their behalf at trial.

“Are they trustworthy?” Balian said as Menendez family members grumbled. “They stick to the same false story. They haven’t changed. They haven’t found redemption ... they have no insight into their crimes. ... They are not ready yet.”

However, Jesic said he was convinced the brothers deserved a new sentence due to all the work they did in prison on behalf of the inmate population. The judge also noted unexpected letters he received in favor of the Menendez brothers from correction officers, including a lieutenant.

The next step in the case will occur June 13, when state parole boards are set to conduct separate hearings for the brothers and send their reports to Gov. Gavin Newsom to help him decide whether the two should receive clemency — another avenue toward possible prison release the family had also requested.

It was unclear when hearings on parole might be held.

Along with family members, emotional testimony was heard Tuesday from rapper Anerae Brown, better known by his stage name X-Raided, who was sentenced to decades in prison on gang-related murder charges and ended up spending years in the same facility as the Menendez brothers. He credited the brothers for saving his life. Brown was paroled in 2018 after serving 26 years behind bars.

“If I hadn’t met Lyle and Erik, I might still be sitting there (in prison), doing stupid things,” Brown said from the witness stand, telling the court that the brothers counseled him to stop getting involved in illegal activity in prison and to work on his own personal development.

In his statement, which was interrupted for about 10 minutes when the feed from San Diego failed, 54-year-old Erik Menendez discussed the murders of his parents, saying he had “committed an atrocious act against people who had every right to live.”

He also apologized to the community of Beverly Hills where the murders worried and frightened residents of the normally tranquil enclave.

“I stole from the neighbors the right to live in a peaceful community,” he said, also expressing regret for telling police and family members that he believed the killings were somehow tied to organized crime.

As for his parents, he said, “I imagine their last moments over and over again” and the “infliction of unimaginable suffering” he and his brother caused.

“After the killings, I denied responsibility,” Erik Menendez said. “I even blamed others. ... During the past 35 years, I have worked hard to find out what kind of person would kill their parents. For a long time, I lost hope and became self-destructive.”

In closing, he said that whether he is released or not, “I will not stop trying to make a difference.”

As the brothers spoke, Menendez family members wept openly in court. Earlier in the day, three members of the family testified of their abiding trust, love and forgiveness for the siblings.

The brothers have spent about 35 years behind bars without the possibility of parole for the Aug. 20, 1989, killings of Jose and Mary Louise “Kitty” Menendez in their Beverly Hills home. The Menendez brothers claim the killings were committed after years of abuse, including alleged sexual abuse by their father.

After the hearing, defense attorney Mark Geragos said the resentencing decision proves that “redemption is possible.”

“The fact is the Menendez brothers have done remarkable work, and today is a great day after 35 years,” he said, adding that the family is “one huge step closer to bringing the boys home.”

In court Tuesday morning, Menendez family members were called to the stand by the defense to try to convince the judge that the brothers had shown remorse and had developed great insight into their crimes.

The first witness, Erik and Lyle Menendez’s cousin Anamaria Baralt, was adamant that the brothers have earned their chance at freedom.

“We believe that 35 years is enough,” she told a courtroom crowded with family members, supporters and media. “They are universally forgiven by our family. They deserve a second chance at life.”

She added that the family has suffered from the “relentless attention” the case has stirred up.

“It’s been torture for decades to live this out in the public eye,” Baralt, 54, said, weeping. “To be the butt of every joke on SNL (“Saturday Night Live”) since (the trial) happened.”

The cousin spoke harshly about “the narrative that they have not completely taken accountability (for their crimes). They feel terrible about it.”

In a 2023 court petition, attorneys for the brothers pointed to two new pieces of evidence they contend corroborate the brothers’ allegations of long-term sexual abuse at the hands of their father — a letter allegedly written by Erik Menendez to his cousin Andy Cano in early 1989 or late 1988, and recent allegations by Roy Rosselló, a former member of the boy band Menudo, that he too was sexually abused by Jose Menendez as a teenager.

Prosecutors allege the murders were carried out due to greed, to acquire their parents’ money.

District Attorney Nathan Hochman told reporters Tuesday morning that the brothers repeatedly lied after the killings about their motivation for the crime, and didn’t initially claim that sexual abuse prompted them to act.

Family members insisted that if released, the brothers would assume roles as advocates for victims of childhood sexual trauma, which the brothers contend they are victims of. While behind bars, Baralt said, Erik and Lyle Menendez have been involved in rehabilitation projects for elderly inmates, hospice services, and gardening and painting efforts at the prison.

“They are incredible people,” she told the court. “The work they have done has been inspiring and I hope they have a chance to inspire the world. ... They are not the same people they were 35 years ago.”

Another cousin, Tamara Goodell, testified that the brothers “have made every possible effort to rehabilitate themselves. ... They now see the world through 35 years of healing. They have created careers for themselves in prison.”

Another witness, Diane Hernandez, niece of Kitty Menendez, called Erik and Lyle Menendez “remarkable human beings. There is absolutely no chance that they would break the law (if released). Their only desire is to do good.”

Interest in the Menendez case surged following the release of a recent Netflix documentary and dramatic series.

In October, then-Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón announced he was in favor of the brothers being resentenced to make them eligible for parole. Since the brothers were under 26 at the time of the murders, they would be eligible for parole through the state’s youthful offender law.

Gascón pointed to the brothers’ work to help other inmates, and officials’ assessment that they present a low risk of re-offending. The now- former district attorney also cited the possible new evidence about the father’s alleged abusive behavior as additional factors in support of new sentences.

However, when he was elected, Hochman promised to reexamine the case, eventually saying he did not support resentencing. Hochman contends the brothers have not shown “insight” into their crimes during their years of incarceration and continue to lie about the alleged abuse.

Last week, attorneys for the brothers withdrew a motion asking that the D.A.’s office be removed from the case, saying they want to expeditiously move forward with their bid to have the pair resentenced.

In court Friday, Hochman reiterated his opposition to resentencing for the brothers, arguing they have not “accepted complete responsibility for their actions.” He maintained in court that his decision was not based on a “political whim.”

“Right now, they are not in a position where we would advocate for resentencing,” Hochman told the judge.