(LOS ANGELES) — Lyle and Erik Menendez’s attorney said he thinks the brothers are “cautiously optimistic that they can see real relief” after the Los Angeles County District Attorney announced he recommends a new conviction.

Mark Geragos told ABC News’ “Good Morning America” ​​that his goal is to bring the brothers home for Thanksgiving.

While Prosecutor George Gascón said he hoped to have a hearing scheduled in the next 30 to 45 days, Geragos said he thought there would be a hearing “well before that.”

Gascón said he was recommending in a court filing Friday that the brothers’ life sentence without parole be removed, and that they instead be sentenced for murder, which would be a sentence of 50 years to perpetuity. Because of the brothers’ ages — they were both under 26 at the time of the crimes — they would be immediately eligible for parole, Gascón said during a news conference Thursday.

The final decision on resentencing will be made by a judge and the parole board will also have to approve it, Gascón said.

Almost two dozen relatives of the brothers were pushing for their new conviction.

“It’s exciting, it’s beyond words,” the brothers’ cousin, Karen VanderMolen, told “GMA.”

“We remain optimistic that Erik and Lyle will be released soon, and the best-case scenario would be that Erik and Lyle are home for the busy Thanksgiving week,” she said, which also includes three family birthdays .

“There is no excuse for the murder,” Gascón emphasized during the press conference, and added that he does not “believe that manslaughter would have been the appropriate charge (to ask in the re-conviction file) given the premeditation involved”.

Lyle and Erik Menendez each received two consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole after being convicted in 1996 of fatally shooting their parents.

Lyle Menendez was 21 and Erik Menendez was 18 when they killed Jose and Kitty Menendez at the family’s Beverly Hills home in 1989. The brothers claimed they acted in self-defense after enduring years of sexual abuse from the from their father; prosecutors alleged they killed their wealthy parents for financial gain.

Gascón said this month that his office was evaluating new evidence: allegations from a member of the boy band Menudo who said he was molested by Jose Menendez, and a letter that Erik Menendez wrote to a cousin eight months ago before the murders detailing his alleged abuse.

Erik Menendez’s cousin testified about the alleged abuse at trial, but Erik Menendez’s letter — which allegedly corroborated the cousin’s testimony — was not discovered until several years ago, according to Geragos.

“I never doubted Erik and Lyle. I believe them,” the brothers’ cousin Natascha Leonardo told “GMA.” “The new evidence that has emerged continues to support our belief. »

Another cousin, Tamara Goodell, added that a new wave of public support is due to a younger generation understanding that boys and men are also victims of sexual abuse, which was not the case. not as well recognized in the 1990s.

“This new generation is really fighting to say, ‘This isn’t what we should have given them,’” she said. “At this point, after almost 35 years, they have served their sentences. …Now it’s time for them to go home.

One relative – the brothers’ uncle, Milton Andersen – is, however, adamant about keeping them behind bars. He said he firmly believes his nephews were not sexually assaulted and were motivated by greed.

“The jury’s verdict was fair and the punishment fits the heinous crime,” he said in a statement.

Gascón told ABC News this month that any recommendation for new sentencing would take into account the decades the brothers have already served and their behavior in prison.

The brothers made a positive impact during their incarceration, despite “no hope of ever getting out of prison,” Gascón said. They focused on “creating groups to think about how to deal with untreated trauma, as well as creating groups to care for other inmates who have physical disabilities and may be treated differently.” Even in one case, Lyle negotiates for other inmates regarding the conditions they live in,” he said.

Geragos said Lyle Menendez earned a college degree behind bars while Erik Menendez provided palliative care to inmates.

“They did great things in prison. I don’t see anything that will stop them from continuing this work once they leave,” Geragos said.

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