LOS ANGELES (KABC) — Los Angeles County prosecutors are recommending that Erik and Lyle Menendez be resentenced for the 1989 murders of their parents in the family’s Beverly Hills home, giving the brothers a chance at freedom after 34 years behind bars.

District Attorney George Gascón announced his decision at a news conference Thursday afternoon.

“We will recommend to the court (on Friday) to cancel the life sentence without possibility of parole and convict her of murder,” Gascón said.

That would normally mean a prison sentence of 50 years to life, he said. However, due to their age – they were both under 26 at the time of the crime – they would be entitled to immediate parole.

“I believe they have paid their debt to society,” he said. “The judge will make the final decision.”

Gascón said part of his decision was based on a review of the brothers’ behavior in prison. Even faced with the threat of a life sentence, they avoided misconduct or joining gangs and instead worked to help fellow inmates improve their lives, he said. For example, they worked to create groups to help inmates deal with untreated trauma and other groups to help inmates with physical disabilities. Lyle also helped advocate for better living conditions for inmates, he said.

The brothers themselves and other family members were not informed of his decision in advance and would likely have learned the news by watching his televised press conference. He said he didn’t make the decision until about an hour before the news conference began.

Gascón is currently in a re-election battle against former federal prosecutor Nathan Hochman, who released a written op-ed questioning the timing of the decision just before the election:

“Prosecutor George Gascon received the habeas corpus petition for Menendez in May 2023 and the motion for resentencing in February 2024. Yet he waited until a few days before the November 5 election, trailing by 30 points in the polls and articles about how his failed policies have led to further murders of innocent people by Gascon abandoning his recommendation for resentencing he the fairness and impartiality of his decision and leaves Angelenos questioning whether the decision was right and just or just another desperate political move by a prosecutor running a losing campaign and making headlines with a made-for-TV decision, and everyone involved deserve better.

During his press conference, Gascón declined to answer reporters’ questions specifically about how the decision relates to his campaign.

When asked what would happen if he lost the election and his successor had a different view of the case, Gascón said that it should not make any difference because once his office made its point of view, the matter would be in the hands of the court. The DA’s office expects to file the lawsuit in court on Friday and hopes to appear in court in the next 30 to 45 days.

The Beverly Hills Police Department, which investigated the 1989 murder, issued a statement that neither praised nor criticized the prosecutor’s position, but noted that its agency was not involved in the decision.

“Today’s decision to recommend resentencing was made entirely by the Los Angeles County District Attorney. BHPD was not consulted or contacted by the District Attorney’s Office regarding this decision. As the investigative agency for the case, the BHPD presented relevant facts and evidence to the lot. The charges were filed at the time by the Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.

The decades-old case began on August 20, 1989, when Lyle and Erik Menendez fatally shot their parents Jose and Kitty Menendez in the family’s Beverly Hills home. Lyle Menendez, then 21, and Erik Menendez, then 18, were using shotguns they had purchased days earlier.

Prosecutors alleged the brothers killed their wealthy parents for financial gain.

The defense argued the brothers acted in self-defense after enduring years of sexual abuse at the hands of their father.

RELATED: Menendez Brothers Case: How Would Resentencing Occur?

Their first trials — which captured the nation’s attention with courtroom cameras — ended in mistrials.

In 1996, at the end of a second trial – in which the judge rejected much of the sexual abuse evidence – the brothers were convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to two consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole.

The high-profile case gained new attention in the fall with the release of the Netflix drama “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story” and the Netflix documentary “The Menendez Brothers.”

SEE ALSO: The Menendez brothers’ uncle says they shouldn’t be released

Gascón said this month that his office was examining new evidence: allegations from a member of the boy band Menudo who said he was molested by Jose Menendez, and a letter Erik Menendez wrote to a cousin eight months before the murders in which he gave his alleged ill-treatment in detail.

Erik Menendez’s cousin testified in court about the alleged abuse, but Erik Menendez’s letter – which would have corroborated the cousin’s testimony – was only unearthed several years ago, according to Geragos.

Nearly two dozen of the brothers’ relatives gathered at a news conference last week to urge resentencing.

RELATED: Relatives of the Menendez brothers speak at a press conference and demand their release from prison

“While their actions were tragic, they were the desperate response of two boys trying to survive their father’s unspeakable cruelty,” said Kitty Menendez’s sister, Joan Andersen VanderMolen. “As their aunt, I had no idea of ​​the extent of the abuse they suffered.”

“It is time to give them the opportunity to live the rest of their lives free from the shadow of their past,” she said.

Behind bars, the siblings tried to “better themselves and serve as support and inspiration to survivors around the world,” added Jose Menendez’s niece, Anamaria Baralt. “Their continued detention serves no purpose of rehabilitation.”

The brothers “deserve a chance to heal, and our family deserves a chance to heal with them,” Baralt said.

Despite the outpouring of support, one relative – the brothers’ uncle, Milton Andersen – is adamant about keeping them behind bars. He said in a statement that he firmly believes his nephews were not sexually abused and were motivated by greed.

ABC News and the Associated Press contributed to this report.