Menendez Relatives, Citing Declining Health for Some, Want Brothers Freed Immediately, Bypassing Parole: Source

Family members of the Menendez brothers want the pair released from prison immediately, citing the declining health of some of the elderly family members.

Lyle, 56, and Erik, 53, were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in 1996 for the 1989 shotgun murders of their parents Kitty and Jose Menendez.

On Thursday, Oct. 24, Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón announced that he would recommend that Erik and Lyle — who claim they killed their parents because they feared for their lives after years of alleged sexual abuse by their father — each be resentenced to 50 years to life. 

Gascón’s office has begun scheduling a hearing — in which prosecutors and the defense will submit written and oral arguments for and against releasing the brothers — that is required to put the matter before the judge, who will issue a ruling. 

If the judge rules in favor of the recommendation, the case would then go to the California Parole Board for a hearing, which could take as long as six months to schedule, CBS8 reported. According to NewsNation, Mark Geragos, the post-conviction attorney for the brothers, has filed documents for a clemency request with California Gov. Gavin Newsom. 

But some family members of the brothers want to bypass that process.

“For over 35 years and as victims themselves, the families of Erik and Lyle have fought for their release. Now, decades later, with the health of the elder members declining, they pray they have a chance to reunite in the real world one last time,” sources close to the family tell PEOPLE.

“When Erik and Lyle were sentenced, so too was the family, beginning a decades-long journey of heartbreak, pain and uncertainty. It's time for all of their suffering to end before it's too late,” the source said.

Geragos says he hopes that the two men are home for Thanksgiving.

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“I think that would be amazing,” cousin Anamaria Baralt, whose mother is Jose’s sister, told PEOPLE. “I think that my mother and Joan VanderMolen, Kitty's sister, could not possibly be happier than to see that happen.”

“This seemed outside of the realm of possibility for so long,” Baralt told PEOPLE. “It's been very hard. There's just a hole in your heart that never quite gets filled. Every holiday, there's a bitter sweetness to it. Even though we have the family together, the families that are outside of prison, we never forget that Lyle and Erik aren't with us. We're all just really looking forward to that day of being together again.”

“I am just desperately hoping that they get to spend time with my mother and their other aunt, Joan," she says. "Both of them are really getting on in years, and both of them just desperately love Lyle and Erik so much and support them. And so, that is my greatest wish."

If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, text "STRENGTH" to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.