The Menendez brothers’ legal team expressed hope that the two convicted criminals could be home with their families by Thanksgiving after a resentful push overcame a major hurdle last week.

That timeline is unlikely, experts say, but the brothers could be free despite exhausting all appeals years ago and receiving life sentences without parole.

Erik and Joseph “Lyle” Menendez claim they shot their father, former RCA Records executive Jose Menendez, in self-defense, arguing they thought he was going to kill them after they warned him they planned to expose him as a child sexual abuser. They also killed their mother, Mary “Kitty” Menendez, who was sitting next to Jose eating ice cream and watching TV during the ambush. The brothers ran out of shells and reloaded outside before returning to finish it off.

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Lyle, left, and Erik Menendez sit with defense attorney Leslie Abramson, right, in Beverly Hills Municipal Court during a hearing, November 26, 1990. (AP Photo/Nick Ut)

The first major hurdle in their quest for reduced sentences was Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón, who agreed with their arguments and asked a judge last week to hear them in court.

But there is a significant chance he will lose his re-election bid on Tuesday and be out of office before their resentencing hearing takes place in December.

Flanked by family and staff, Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón announces his decision on the potential resentencing of Erik and Lyle Menendez at the Los Angeles Courtroom on Thursday, October 24, 2024. Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. George Gascón has announced that he will ask a judge to convict Erik and Lyle Menendez of killing their parents in 1989, a decision that could free the brothers. (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

CHRONOLOGY OF THE CASE OF THE MENENDEZ BROTHERS CASE

Here are the other key players they will have to convince to give them their freedom:

Mark Geragos, the defense attorney for Erik and Lyle Menendez, the Beverly Hills brothers convicted of murdering their parents, speaks during a news conference at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in Los Angeles, California, October 16, 2024. (Reuters/Mike Blake)

Mark Geragos

The brothers’ lawyer has been working overtime trying to get them released since late last year. In addition to the impulse of resentment, he advanced a habeas corpus petition and separately petitioned the governor for clemency.

If he succeeds in any of these three efforts, the high-profile California attorney could win his clients’ freedom.

Nathan Hochman

The former federal prosecutor is Gascon’s challenger on Election Day. Recent polls show a significant lead, and if he wins, he would lead the office at the time of their resentencing hearing.

A source familiar with Hochman’s thinking told Fox News Digital that, if elected, he would likely ask the judge to delay the hearing so he could familiarize himself with the case. The hearing takes place on December 11, and the new prosecutor would be sworn in just two days earlier.

MENENDEZ BROTHERS CLOSE TO RELEASE FROM ‘LIFE WITHOUT SAVINGS’ FOR BEVERLY HILLS PARENTS

District Attorney Candidate Nathan Hochman speaks alongside actress Esme Bianco during a press conference to criticize LA County District Attorney George Gascón for not yet charging singer Marilyn Manson and for mishandling dozens of other cases of gender-based violence on Thursday, October 10, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (Michael Blackshire/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

His campaign has not pledged to free the Menendez brothers or keep them in prison. He could pick up where Gascón left off and seek resentencing, ask the judge to withdraw the previous administration’s resentencing claim, or file additional documents to give the judge more material to work with as the court considers the issue.

“As a candidate, Nathan has been clear that he will approach each case with the diligence and integrity that every victim and defendant deserves,” campaign spokesman Stuart Pfeifer told Fox News Digital. “This includes a thorough review of the facts and the law before making any conclusion.”

Without being in office, Hochman does not have access to all files.

“Nathan understands how important this case is to many Angelenos, and as District Attorney, he will absolutely give it the attention it deserves and ensure justice and fairness are served,” Pfeifer said.

Judge Michael Jesic

The judge previously scheduled a conference call for late November and a resentencing hearing for Dec. 11.

Gascón asked him to sentence the brothers to 50 years to life in prison for killing their parents. That would make them immediately eligible for parole, but not immediate release for time served.

California Parole Board

If the brothers get their sentences reduced, the state will have six months to hold parole hearings for them. Those hearings will be before a commissioner and deputy commissioner, who will weigh a number of factors and recommend either keeping the brothers incarcerated or releasing them.

If they approve parole, their findings would go to the governor for review, and he would have 120 days to respond.

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Governor Gavin Newsom

Newsom, who has sought parole both ways during his years in office, has the final say.

If the parole board approves the brothers’ release, Newsom would have more options. He could agree, clearing their way to freedom. It could overturn the parole board. He could send the cases back for further review, reconsideration or even a new parole hearing.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom is joined by actor Danny Trejo (R) and SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland at a press conference at Raleigh Studios unveiling a major expansion of the film and television credit program in California on October 27, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

If Newsom opposes a decision by the parole board to release the brothers, they may try to sue him, according to John Lewin, a Los Angeles deputy district attorney. Inmates have seen mixed results in such cases.

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If the parole board denies release, Newsom could still let the brothers walk free.

Their attorney, Mark Geragos, asked the governor for clemency on their behalf earlier this week, and Gascón sent separate letters of support, one for each brother, urging the governor to commute his sentences and release them.

Newsom last week declined to comment on clemency requests.

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A spokesman said they were confidential and could not be discussed on a case-by-case basis.

Milton Andersen

A wildcard, the Menendez brothers’ 90-year-old uncle is their mother’s brother, and unlike most of their relatives, he vehemently opposes their release.

Andersen’s attorney has already asked the judge to dismiss claims of new evidence that could support the brothers’ claim that their father was a child abuser.

“It is Milton Andersen’s continuing belief that the allegations of molestation were fabricated and false, and he believes that the correct verdict was reached by the jury and that the correct sentence was imposed,” said his attorney Kathleen Cady. Fox News Digital last week. “One of the concerns for him, and it should be for everyone really, was at the trial, the Menendez brothers tried to get two specific witnesses to come and lie for them. And those witnesses testified and said, “Yes. They asked us. to lie for them.”

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Separately, the brothers have a habeas petition working its way through the court system that could lead to reduced sentences or even freedom without resentencing or clemency trials.