Relatives of Menendez brothers gather outside Los Angeles courthouse as prosecutor expresses outrage

The extended family of Eric and Lyle Menendez is expected to gather outside a Los Angeles courtroom on Wednesday as the prosecutor examines whether the brothers convicted of murdering their parents nearly three decades ago should be resentenced and possibly released.

About two dozen family members will hold a press conference in front of the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in downtown Los Angeles on Wednesday at 1 p.m. PT. They will be joined by the brothers' defense lawyer, Mark Geragos, and their celebrity defender, Rosie O'Donnell.

The timing of the press conference is noteworthy. Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon said earlier this month that his office had Confirmation Review Among the siblings, who were convicted of their parents' 1989 murders, are José and Mary Louise “Kitty” Menendez.

It was unclear whether Gascon, a progressive running for re-election, plans to appear outside the courtroom. The Menéndez brothers are “cautiously optimistic” about prosecutors' review, Geragos told NBC Los Angeles Tuesday

Eric and Lyle Menendez were convicted 28 years ago and sentenced to life in prison without parole. The case attracted a lot of attention at the time, turning the Beverly Hills brothers into household names and gaining national notoriety.

The legal saga has drawn renewed public interest since the release of the Netflix miniseries “Monsters: The Lyle and Eric Menendez Story,” co-created by Ryan Murphy, as well as the feature-length Netflix documentary “The Menendez Brothers.”

The series and documentary chronicle the years of sexual, physical and emotional abuse the brothers say they suffered at the hands of their father, a record company executive.

The brothers' lawyers argued that they acted in self-defense out of fear and trauma. The prosecution argued that they killed their parents to inherit money and spent heavily after the murder.

The brothers were first tried together in 1993, and the televised proceedings ended in a hung jury. When they were retried in 1995, most of their allegations of sexual abuse were ruled inadmissible in court.

Family members present at Wednesday's press conference included José Menéndez's niece, Annamaria Barrault; Joan Anderson Vandermolen, sister of Kitty Menendez; Karen Vandermolen, niece of Kitty Menendez; And Brian A. Anderson Jr., nephew of Kitty Menendez.

O'Donnell isn't the only celebrity who has supported the brothers. Kim Kardashian, who has used her platform to advocate for criminal justice issues, called for his release in a personal essay. Shared exclusively with NBC News this month

“I spent time with Lyle and Eric,” the reality star wrote in the article, and “they are not monsters.” He argued that the brothers were treated unfairly by prosecutors and the press in the 1990s.

At a press conference on October 7, Gascon said that more than 300 people had been offended during his term and only four had reoffended.

Gascon was elected in 2020 on a reformist platform. Recent polls show him trailing his opponent, Nathan Hochman, a former federal prosecutor.

College of Law professor Lori Levenson, who specializes in criminal cases, said the renewed public attention surrounding the Menendez case only goes so far.

“It is in the court of public opinion that some majority support may be given to the defendants, but it is in the court of law that the decision will be made,” Levenson said.