(NewsNation) — A retired judge who considers himself tough on crime went to bat for Erik and Lyle Menendez this week as a character witness and says he was impressed with the good deeds they’ve done while behind bars.
Jonathan Colby said he met the brothers through his volunteer work during the past decade as a therapy dog handler. He said he was impressed with how Erik and Lyle created programs to help their fellow inmates, even though the pair presumed they would never be released from prison for the 1989 murders of their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez.
“In the tens of thousands of inmates that I’ve met over the 10-year period, I’ve never seen anyone do something so altruistic,” Colby told “Banfield” on Wednesday.
A judge on Tuesday resentenced the brothers — originally they were given life in prison without parole — to include the possibility of early release, over the opposition of Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman.
The state’s parole board is expected to hold a hearing and advise Gov. Gavin Newsom, who will make the ultimate decision on clemency.
“In that hearing, they need to advocate to that parole board,” Colby said. “They’re not going to be having witnesses come. I won’t come. Jail guards who like them won’t come.”
Hochman’s predecessor had asked the court to resentence the Menendez brothers, based in part on their good behavior in prison. Many family members supported the move.
Hochman countered that Erik and Lyle Menendez never took accountability for the brutal murders of their parents in their Beverly Hills home. The brothers say they were sexually abused by their father.