The California district attorney holding the fate of the Menendez brothers' future in his hands says the siblings aren't a danger to society.
"Based on everything that I know, I don't believe that they are," Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón admitted in an interview with PEOPLE Monday. "Quite frankly, they probably haven't been for a very long time, if they ever were. I think this is not like they were going around killing people or robbing people on the street."
Gascón said he will decide by week's end whether or not to recommend the resentencing of Erik and Lyle Menendez, who are in the middle of serving life sentences for the murders of their parents, José and Kitty Menendez, at the family's sprawling Beverly Hills, California mansion in 1989.
The DA will spend this week in discussions with attorneys in the office's habeas and resentencing units
"I'll be listening to not only the briefing, but recommendations from both teams," he explained, according to the outlet. "That also plays a role. Because they're not just sort of an agnostic presenter. They're going to be presenting what they think should be the outcome. I expect one will be saying, 'No relief,' one will be saying, 'Yes, provide relief,' and I'll evaluate both of them."
While Gascón can only make a recommendation, the final say will be up to a judge.
During the brothers' high profile murder trial, Erik, 53, and Lyle, 56, claimed the killings of their parents were self-defense and in response to suffering years of sexual abuse at the hands of their music executive father, but not everyone bought it.
"There are some people in my office that believe that there is no evidence of molestation. I don't agree with that, but that's certainly the position that some people have taken, and they believe that they should stay in prison the rest of their life," said Gascón. "There are other people in the office that believe that there's probably some evidence of molestation and there is additionally evidence of rehabilitation. So, I mean, certainly we have some issues."
"If in fact they have rehabilitated as is being alleged, and we're reviewing all of that, they have been in prison for almost 35 years," he continued. "Thirty-five years is a long time to be in prison. And especially when you look at the circumstances behind this case, it just seems to me that at some point there has to be a place for redemption and rehabilitation. But again, whether I believe that they should or shouldn't be in prison the rest of their life, it's not necessarily what is going to alter my final decision. My final decision is going to be really evaluating the law."
Speaking with CNN earlier this month, Gascón said while "there's no question" the brothers "committed the killing, the question is to what degree of culpability should they be held accountable to given the totality of the circumstances?"
"A jury today would look at this case probably very differently than a jury did 35 years ago," he said.
The Menendez brothers' case has recently been thrust back into the spotlight since the release of Netflix's Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, prompting a renewed public interest and putting pressure on officials to re-examine the facts.
In 1989, Lyle, then 21, and Erik, then 18, shot their parents point-blank with shotguns.
They were sentenced to life in prison without parole and are serving their punishments at a San Diego correctional facility. .
