Menendez brothers' murder sentences reduced - making them eligible for parole
A judge has reduced the Menendez brothers' sentence - meaning they could be eligible for release.
Lyle, 57, and Erik, 54, received life sentences without the possibility of parole after being convicted of murdering their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez, at their Beverly Hills home in 1989.
Last year, Los Angeles district attorney George Gascon asked a judge to change the brothers' sentence from life without the possibility of parole to 50 years to life.
On Tuesday, a Los Angeles judge ruled that they can be resentenced for their crime - to that 50 years to life - paving the way for their parole and possible release.
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Daily Mail
33 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Four dangerous migrants ESCAPE from New Jersey ICE detention center after woke protesters spark chaos
Four migrants escaped a ICE detention center in New Jersey during a riot over conditions at the facility. All four men are on the run after they broke out of the Delaney Hall Detention Facility on Thursday, and federal authorities have offered up a $10,000 reward for information leading to their capture. The illegal immigrants were first identified by the New York Post as Franklin Norberto Bautista-Reyes and Joel Enrique Sandoval-Lopez, both of Honduras, and Joan Sebastian Castaneda-Lozada and Andres Pineda-Mogollon, both of Colombia. Bautista-Reyes illegally entered the US in 2021 and was arrested in May on charges of aggravated assault, attempt to cause bodily injury, terroristic threats, and possession of a weapon for unlawful purposes. Sandoval-Lopez came to the US illegally in 2019 when he was still a minor. He was first arrested in October 2024 for unlawful possession of a handgun and then again in February 2025 for aggravated assault. Castaneda-Lozada arrived in the US in 2022 and was taken into custody by a local state police department on suspicion of burglary, theft, and conspiracy to commit burglary. Pineda-Mogollon crossed the border in 2023 and overstayed a tourist visa. He was first arrested in April by New York City police for petit larceny. A month later, he was arrested in New Jersey for residential burglary, conspiracy residential burglary, and possession of burglary tools. The Department of Homeland Security contradicted reporting from multiple local outlets that claimed these men were able to slink away during revolt staged by 50 detainees. The above four men, all illegal migrants, broke out of Delaney Hall in Newark, New Jersey on Thursday after detainees were able to push down a weak wall inside that let to an outdoor parking lot 'Contrary to current reporting, there has been no widespread unrest at the Delaney Hall Detention facility,' a DHS spokesperson said. A report from said that the detainees pushed down a wall of dormitory room inside the facility. They broke through a wall - described as 'drywall with a mesh interior - in a dorm unit that led to an exterior wall and into a parking lot, according to New Jersey Senator Andy Kim. The Democrat said he had been briefed by the detention center's administrators as well as ICE leadership, ABC7 reported. At a Friday press conference, Kim said the incident was an example of 'the incompetence and the recklessness of all this.' He also revealed that the facility is undergoing a security review and the breach itself will be investigated. There will be 'major detainee movements out of this facility,' Kim added. That process appeared to begin late Friday afternoon, when protestors were seen holding onto the buses transporting migrants away from the center. Eventually, these people were ripped from the buses by ICE agents. On Thursday night, the night of the jailbreak, dozens of protestors showed up to block any vehicles from entering or exiting the facility. They chanted slogans and criticized the alleged poor conditions inside the facility. Detainees reported there was a lack of food and that meals were being delivered hours behind schedule. One woman whose husband was detained inside the center told CBS New York that detainees hadn't been fed for about 20 hours, only to be given a small amount of food. This, according to reports, caused a fight between them and the guards, which led to the detainees pushing down a weak wall inside the facility. 'We are now going to try to get full confirmation from ICE headquarters about what is the future of this facility and whether or not they're going to shut it down,' Kim said. Immigration groups also claimed there has been 'insufficient or frozen food, boiling water coming from pipes, and multiple cancelled visitation hours.' Delaney Hall is run by GEO Group, one of the nation's largest private prison contractors. The facility, following a refurbishment, reopened in May after GEO Group inked a $60 million deal with the Trump administration, according to the Guardian. As part of that deal, the company is allowed to hold 1,000 people at a time at Delaney Hall. Delaney Hall's reopening was a subject of controversy for local politicians, who claimed it doesn't hold the correct work permits or a valid certificate of occupancy. GEO Group has denied this. LaMonica McIver, a New Jersey Democratic Representative, visited the center during its reopening last month and called for it to be shut down. She was arrested for trespassing and was later charged with assaulting an officer by acting New Jersey US Attorney Alina Habba's office. Ras Baraka, the mayor of Newark, was with McIver and other elected officials. He too was arrested but was released the same day. Charges against him were dropped. 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The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
An Afghan man accused of planning an Election Day attack in the US pleads guilty
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The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Federal judge recuses himself days before sentencing Memphis officers accused in Tyre Nichols' death
The federal judge presiding over the case against five former Memphis officers convicted in the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols recused himself Friday, just days before he was supposed to hand down sentences for the men. U.S. District Judge Mark S. Norris issued a one-sentence order saying he was recusing himself and "returns the matter to the Clerk for reassignment to another United States District Judge for all further proceedings.' He offered no further explanation. Norris' clerk did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and the U.S. Attorney's Office declined comment Friday. Norris had overseen the case since federal indictments were issued in September 2023. He accepted guilty pleas from two of the officers and presided over the trial for the other three officers in October. Four of the five officers had been scheduled to be sentenced next week and the fifth on June 23. U.S. District Judge Sheryl H. Lipman was added to the case late Friday, court records showed. It was not immediately clear how the change in judges would affect the timing of the sentencings. Several motions had been filed under seal in recent days. It was not clear if any of those asked for Norris to step away from the case. It is unusual for a judge to recuse themself from a case between the trial and sentencing. Beating was captured on cameras The officers yanked Nichols from his car, then pepper-sprayed and hit the 29-year-old Black man with a Taser. Nichols fled, and when the five officers, who are also Black, caught up with him, they punched, kicked and hit him with a police baton. Nichols called out for his mother during the beating, which took place just steps from his home. Nichols died Jan. 10, 2023, three days later. Footage of the beating captured by a police pole camera also showed the officers milling about, talking and laughing as Nichols struggled with his injuries — video that prompted intense scrutiny of police in Memphis. The beating also sparked nationwide protests and prompted renewed calls for police reform. The five officers — Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin, Desmond Mills Jr., and Justin Smith — were fired from the police force and indicted in state and federal court. Bean, Haley and Smith were found guilty in federal court in October of obstruction of justice through witness tampering related to an attempt to cover up the beating. The officers failed to say that they or their colleagues punched and kicked Nichols and broke Memphis Police Department rules when they did not include complete and accurate statements about what type of force they used. Bean and Smith were acquitted of more serious civil rights charges by the federal jury. Haley was found guilty of violating Nichols' civil rights by causing bodily injury and showing deliberate indifference to medical needs. He was also convicted of conspiracy to witness tamper. Bean and Smith were scheduled to be sentenced on Monday. Haley's sentencing was scheduled for Tuesday, and Martin was scheduled to be sentenced on Wednesday. Mills' sentencing was set for June 23. Martin Zummach, Smith's lawyer, referred questions on Norris' recusal to the district court and the U.S. Attorney's Office on Friday. Bean, Haley and Smith were acquitted in May of all state charges, including second-degree murder. The jury for the state trial was chosen in majority-white Hamilton County, which includes Chattanooga, after Judge James Jones Jr. ordered the case be heard from people outside of Shelby County, which includes the majority-Black Memphis. The officers' lawyers had argued that intense publicity made seating a fair jury difficult. Martin and Mills pleaded guilty in federal court last year to violating Nichols' civil rights by causing death and conspiracy to witness tamper. They did not stand trial in federal court with their former colleagues. Martin and Mills also avoided the trial in state court after reaching agreements to plead guilty there. Both Martin and Mills testified in the federal trial, and Mills also took the stand in the state trial. Officers were part of Scorpion Unit The officers were part of a crime suppression team called the Scorpion Unit that was disbanded weeks after Nichols died. The team targeted illegal drugs and guns, and violent offenders, and sometimes used force against unarmed people. In December, the U.S. Justice Department said a 17-month investigation showed the Memphis Police Department uses excessive force and discriminates against Black people. The investigation also found that the Memphis Police Department conducts unlawful stops, searches, and arrests. In May, the Trump administration announced it was retracting the findings of Justice Department civil rights investigations of police departments, including Memphis, that were issued under the Biden administration. The city has hired a former federal judge and created a task force to address police department reforms. The task force has not announced any recommendations. Nichols' family is suing the five officers, the city of Memphis and the police chief for $550 million. A trial has been scheduled in that case next year. Norris is the judge presiding over that case too. Court records in the lawsuit did not show any order of recusal Friday.
