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TMZ founder Harvey Levin said he's "stunned" at who the Menendez brothers have become after spending more than 30 years in prison for the brutal murder of their parents.
Levin shared a sneak peek of his exclusive prison interview with Lyle and Erik, detailing what the brothers’ futures could look like if they’re released from prison and the obstacles to their freedom, in an interview Monday on "Special Report."
"I covered the trials when I was a local reporter here in LA. And my impressions of them were spoiled brats, monsters, who deserved their sentence. Thirty-five years later, I spoke with two entirely different people. They are — they're introspective, they're thoughtful, they are remorseful," he said.
FILE - This combination of two booking photos provided by the California Department of Corrections shows Erik Menendez, left, and Lyle Menendez. (California Dept. of Corrections via AP, File) (California Dept. of Corrections via AP, File)
The Menendez brothers shot their parents, Jose and Kitty, with a shotgun multiple times at close range in their Beverly Hills mansion in 1989.
Lyle and Erik were convicted of first-degree murder in 1996 and received life sentences without the possibility of parole.
A Netflix series released last year brought renewed attention to their case, leading then-Los Angeles County DA George Gascón to recommend that the brothers be resentenced.
The DA’s office said the Menendez brothers filed a habeas petition in court in May 2023 to overturn their convictions based on the discovery of new evidence.
Lyle, left, and Erik Menendez sit with defense attorney Leslie Abramson, right, in Beverly Hills Municipal Court during a hearing, Nov. 26, 1990. (AP Photo/Nick Ut)
TIMELINE OF THE MENENDEZ BROTHERS' MURDER CASE
"The biggest thing is that until recently, Bret, they had no chance of ever seeing freedom," Levin told Fox News chief political anchor Bret Baier. "Yet, they started a hospice program, a suicide prevention program, a green space program. They counseled other inmates to rehabilitate them. They got advanced college degrees. And they did all of this without ever expecting to get out. So, I am stunned at the two people that I just spoke with."
Nathan Hochman, the new LA County DA, who was sworn into office in early December, announced early last month that he was withdrawing Gascón’s motion to request resentencing.
"The People want to make clear that its request to withdraw its resentencing motion is based on the current state of the record and the Menendez brothers’ current and continual failure to show full insight and accept full responsibility for their murders," read a press release from Hochman’s office in part.
"If they were to finally come forward and unequivocally and sincerely admit and completely accept responsibility for their lies of self-defense and the attempted suborning of perjury they engaged in, then the Court should weigh such new insight into the analysis of rehabilitation and resentencing — as will the People."
A hearing for the resentencing withdrawal request is scheduled to be held on Friday.
Lyle and Erik Menendez are seen as young men with their mugshots overlayed. The brothers are currently serving life sentences for the murders of their parents, José and Mary Louise "Kitty" Menendez in 1996. (Ronald L. Soble/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Levin said he doesn’t see any value in the upcoming hearing.
"I think that hearing is irrelevant because even if they got resentenced, all it would mean is, it then goes to the parole board. But, Governor Newsom has already jumped the gun and sent it to the parole board," the TMZ founder explained.
"This is an issue of releasing them that splits the country right down the middle. And it's pretty clear to me, at least, that Gavin Newsom's running for president. If the parole board comes back to him and says they are rehabilitated and they're not a danger, I think he's going to let them out. And that is a pretty ballsy political move for somebody who has presidential ambitions."
California Governor Gavin Newsom makes an appearance after the polls close on the recall election, at the California Democratic Party headquarters in Sacramento, California, U.S., September 14, 2021. (REUTERS/Fred Greaves)
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"The Menendez Brothers: The Prison Interview" will air April 7 at 9:00 p.m. ET on Fox.
Ashley Carnahan is a writer at Fox News Digital.
