(LOS ANGELES) – Lyle and Erik Menendez they can become free men after spending decades behind bars for killing their parents.

Here’s a look at prison life for the notorious brothers and three paths to potential freedom:

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Lyle Menendez, then 21, and Erik Menendez, then 18, admitted to buying rifles and firing 16 rounds at Jose and Kitty Menendez at the family’s Beverly Hills home in 1989.

Prosecutors argued they killed their wealthy parents for money, but the defense argued they acted in self-defense after enduring years of sexual abuse from their father.

The first trial, which had separate juries for each brother, ended in a mistrial. In 1996, after the second trial—during which the judge barred much of the sex-abuse evidence—Lyle and Erik Menendez were convicted and both sentenced to two consecutive life sentences without parole.

Life in prison

Nery Ynclan, an ABC News freelance producer and executive producer of “Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed,” visited Lyle Menendez several times at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego.

She pointed out that Lyle and Erik Menendez spent their decades in prison rehabilitating as well as helping other inmates.

“(Lyle) and his brother have spent their entire adult lives trying to counsel other victims of sexual abuse and start programs in prison,” she said. “Even though they had no chance of parole, they really felt that the prison system could be improved.”

Erik Menendez provided medical care to inmates, their attorney said, while for the past 20 years, Lyle Menendez’s fellow inmates have elected him as a representative of the prison administration, Ynclan said.

“He’s like a soft-spoken CEO who’s very busy with multiple projects,” Ynclan said of Lyle.

“He wants to talk about prison reform,” Ynclan said. “He told me about the college courses he was taking. … I was very impressed that someone in his early 50s, in prison with no chance of parole … would want to take calculus and statistics to continue to improve.”

With freedom now a possibility, Ynclan described it as an “emotional and tense time” for Lyle Menendez.

“For the first time in decades, he actually feels like there’s a glimmer of hope that the two of them might make it home to their families one day,” Ynclan said.

Path 1: Habeas corpus petition

One path to freedom is the brothers’ habeas corpus petition, which was filed last year to review new evidence that was not presented at trial.

One proof is the allegations of Roy Rosselló, a former member of the boy band Menudo, who revealed in the 2023 documentary series “Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed” that he was raped by music director Jose Menendez.

The second piece of evidence is a letter Erik Menendez wrote to his cousin eight months before the murders detailing the alleged abuse. The cousin testified about the alleged abuse at trial, but the letter — which would have corroborated the cousin’s testimony — wasn’t unearthed until several years ago, according to the brothers’ attorney, Mark Geragos.

Through this petition, the court could change their sentences. The next hearing is set for November 25.

Path 2: The resentencing recommendation goes before the judge, the parole board

A second way is through resentment.

Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón announced in an Oct. 25 court filing that he recommended removing the brothers’ life sentences without the possibility of parole and that they instead be convicted of murder, which would carry a sentence of 50 years to life.

Because both brothers were under 26 at the time of the crimes, with the new sentence, they would be eligible for parole immediately, Gascón said.

The DA’s office said its sentencing recommendations take into account factors such as the defendants’ age, psychological trauma or physical abuse that contributed to the crime and their rehabilitation in prison.

“We appreciate what they did while they were in prison,” Gascón told a news conference. “While I disapprove of the way they handled their abuse, we hope that not only have they learned – which they appear to have done – but that if they are reintegrated into our community, they will continue to do good publicly.”

Gascón’s recommendation then goes before a Los Angeles Superior Court judge, who will weigh factors including the crime, the brothers’ records while incarcerated and the positive impact they had in prison, said Brian Buckmire, the contributor legal ABC News.

The judge will also consider facts that were not available when the brothers were sentenced in 1996, Buckmire said.

The judge could also consider “the science of boys and young men who are sexually assaulted,” Buckmire said. “How they react, how they react to that abuse and how there may not have been information that was readily available at the time of sentencing that could have changed the sentence.”

A hearing is set for December. If the judge agrees to the resentencing, the case then goes to the parole board.

Even if the judge had already weighed the facts and factors, “the parole board will do its own investigation,” Buckmire said.

Siblings and their relatives will also have an opportunity to address the parole board, Buckmire said. In this case, the relatives are not only the family of the perpetrators, but also the family of the victims, “so they have their own rights based on both capacities,” Buckmire said.

A relative, their uncle Milton Andersen, wants the brothers behind bars, saying he doesn’t believe they were abused and instead killed their parents out of greed.

But nearly two dozen family members they are in support of the brothers and plead for their release.

“They are survivors and they deserve a chance to rebuild their lives,” their cousin, Brian Andersen Jr., told reporters in October. “I am no longer a threat to society.”

“If they came to my house, knocked on my door, I’d answer that door, give them huge hugs, my wife would make them dinner and I’d give them a pillow and a seat where to sleep Andersen said.

A hearing before the parole board would likely take at least six months, according to the California Department of Corrections.

If the parole board recommends release, the final decision rests with California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Buckmire said.

If released on parole, the brothers will be subject to monitoring and background checks, Buckmire said. Parole often comes with conditions such as maintaining a job and staying off drugs, he said.

Path 3: Clemency

On Oct. 28, the Menendez brothers’ defense opened a third path to potential freedom by filing a petition to the governor for clemency.

The prosecutor announced a few days later that he was supporting the brothers’ request for clemency, which would commute their sentences or grant them a pardon.

Newsom is first eligible to weigh in on the clemency request on Nov. 7. The governor’s office said this is a confidential process, Newsom is not required to review the request and there is no time frame for review.

If the governor approves clemency, the case will likely go before the parole board.

The governor’s office plans to treat this request “like any other case,” an office official said. “No one gets special treatment.”

ABC News’ Matt Gutman and Ashley Riegle contributed to this report.

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