cnn
—

Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón “strongly supports” Erik and Lyle Menendez’s clemency request and has written letters on behalf of each brother to California Gov. Gavin Newsom, he announced Wednesday.

He letters, published by Gascón’s office, describe the murders of their parents, Kitty and José Menéndez, committed by the Menéndez brothers in 1989, as well as “credible accusations” that Erik and Lyle were each “victims of physical and sexual abuse at the hands of (his) father.”

The 34 years the brothers spent in custody and their “dedication to rehabilitation” make them “exemplary” candidates for clemency, Gascón wrote. The prosecutor adds that his office has contacted several relatives of Kitty and José Menéndez and all of the relatives except one, Kitty Menéndez’s brother, support the commutation.

CNN has reached out to the brothers’ attorney, Mark Geragos, to confirm that a formal clemency request has been sent to the governor’s office. Newsom’s office declined to comment on the case, saying “pending clemency requests are confidential and we cannot discuss individual cases.”

If the governor approves it, the Menéndez brothers could have their sentence reduced (life in prison without the possibility of parole) or they could be released immediately.

“I strongly support the pardon for Erik and Lyle Menéndez,” Gascón said in a statement Wednesday. “They have served 34 years respectively and have continued their education and worked to create new programs to support the rehabilitation of their fellow prisoners.”

Gascon’s announcement comes days after the district attorney filed a motion recommending a judge resentence the brothers, from life in prison without parole to life in prison with parole.

Under California law, the brothers would be immediately eligible for parole because they were 26 or younger when they committed their crimes.

A hearing on the resentencing request has been set for Dec. 11, according to a court official and Holly Baird, a spokeswoman for the brothers’ attorney, Mark Geragos.

“They were sentenced appropriately at the time they were tried,” Gascón said in a previous interview with CNN. “I just think that given the current state of the law and our evaluation of their behavior in prison, they deserve the opportunity to be reevaluated and perhaps reintegrated into the community.”