LOS ANGELES: The case of Erik and Lyle Menendez will go before a Los Angeles court Friday in the latest chapter of their bid to get out of jail, decades after slaughtering their own parents.
The brothers — who are among America’s most infamous murderers — are hoping the court will agree to resentence them for the 1989 shotgun slayings that left their luxury Beverly Hills mansion soaked in blood.
During blockbuster trials in the 1990s, prosecutors said the men killed Jose and Kitty Menendez to get their hands on a $14 million fortune, initially blaming their deaths on a Mafia hit.
Supporters say the men acted in self-defense, terrified of their parents’ rage after years of sexual and emotional abuse by a tyrannical father and a complicit mother.
But despite a lengthy campaign and a seemingly sympathetic public — nourished by a hit Netflix series — Erik Menendez, 54, and Lyle Menendez, 57, face an uphill battle.
Last month, the new chief prosecutor of Los Angeles County said his office wanted to withdraw its earlier support for a resentencing hearing that supporters hoped would see the brothers walk free.
District Attorney Nathan Hochman said the pair should remain behind bars because they had never accepted their guilt and continued to rely on untruths.
“In looking at whether or not the Menendezes have exhibited the full insight and complete responsibility for their crimes, they have not,” Hochman told reporters.
“They have told 20 different lies, they’ve actually admitted to four of them, but 16 realized lies remain unacknowledged.”
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic is expected to hear arguments Friday from Hochman’s office asking to withdraw a motion filed by his predecessor George Gascon, who believed the brothers were reformed.
That motion asked for the court to resentence them, changing their current life-without-parole to a minimum term with parole that would allow them to go free, given the length of time they have been in prison.
The resentencing effort is one of three separate routes being pursued by attorneys for the brothers, who are also seeking a retrial and are appealing to California Governor Gavin Newsom for clemency.
Hochman also opposes a new trial.
The brothers’ original trials were huge events, and the case saw a surge of renewed interest last year with the release of the Netflix hit “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.”
Newsom is bound by no specific timeline and could release the men at any point, or refuse their appeal for clemency.
He has said he has not watched dramatizations of the Menendez case or documentaries on it “because I don’t want to be influenced by them.”
“I just want to be influenced by the facts.”

TEHRAN: All of the women in Iranian model Azadeh’s family have had nose surgeries, each feeling the pressure to conform with Western beauty standards in a country where female bodies are heavily policed.

To Azadeh, smoothing out the bump in what Iranians would call the “Persian nose” she was born with proved a lucrative investment.

Since the 1979 Islamic revolution, Iranian women have been required to dress modestly and cover their hair, and the beauty industry has become almost entirely centered on the face.

Having rhinoplasty — a nose job — can make a major difference, Azadeh told AFP.

“After the operation, not only have I earned myself a modelling job with better social standing but I’m also earning three times more and I’m more respected by clients,” she said. Azadeh, 29, asked that her surname be withheld because women models can face social pressure in Iran.

According to the US-based International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, more than 264,000 cosmetic operations were performed in Iran in 2023, with rhinoplasty being the most common.

Across Tehran and other Iranian cities, brightly colored billboards advertise beauty clinics and cosmetic procedures, offering promises of sculpted noses, flawless skin and perfect teeth. Many people with bandaged noses can be seen on the streets, a testament to the popularity of rhinoplasty.

“It has become more of a cultural trend,” said rhinoplasty surgeon Hamidreza Hosnani who performs up to 20 operations a week at his well-equipped clinic in the capital.

And that trend has evolved, becoming more and more tied to social identity and status, especially as more women have defied the strict dress code.

Such defiance became more marked following the mass protests sparked by the 2022 death in custody of 22-year-old Iranian Kurd Mahsa Amini.

In Iran, where the minimum wage is around $100, basic rhinoplasty costs up to $1,000 — significantly cheaper than in other countries, Hosnani said.

Millions of Iranians have long struggled with soaring prices and a plunging currency, driven in part by years of international sanctions.

“I even had to borrow the money required for the operation from my friends and family, but the money was well spent, and it was completely worth it,” Azadeh said.

Reyhaneh Khoshhali, a 28-year-old surgical assistant, had the operation four years ago, and regrets not having it sooner.

“My nose really did not look good aesthetically and I wanted to be more beautiful,” she said.

“If I could go back, I would have had the operation earlier.”

For years, Iran has hosted highly advanced medical centers, even becoming a destination for foreigners seeking high-quality and affordable cosmetic surgery.

However, the procedures can also come with risks.

The Iranian authorities have repeatedly warned about the growing number of unauthorized clinics performing cosmetic procedures.

In February, a dozen unlicensed practitioners were arrested and several operating theaters in Tehran’s Apadana Hospital were closed because of unauthorized cosmetic procedures, the health ministry said.

In 2023, three women died in a single day — November 7 — during cosmetic surgery in three separate incidents in Tehran, media reported at the time.

Ava Goli has yet to undergo her rhinoplasty operation, and said that finding a reliable doctor involved some research.

“I saw some people whose nose job did not look good... and yeah, it really made me scared at times,” the 23-year-old told AFP.

Yet the demand for cosmetic surgery in Iran remains high — and the pressure to keep up is not limited to women.

Bahador Sayyadi, a 33-year-old accountant, said he had to borrow money so he could have a hair transplant.

“My financial situation isn’t great, but thanks to a loan I got recently, I will be doing the procedure just in time before my wedding,” he said.

“Men should also take care of themselves these days, just like women.”