LOS ANGELES (AP) — Lyle and Erik Menendez were 21 and 18 when they killed their parents. Now, at 57 and 54, the brothers are eligible for parole after a Los Angeles judge Tuesday reduced their sentences from life in prison without parole to 50 years to life.

Nearly three decades after Erik and Lyle Menendez were sentenced to life in prison for the murders of their parents, a California judge has reopened a door many believed would remain closed.

A shock twist in the case of convicted killers Lyle and Erik Menendez was announced by Los Angeles prosecutors last night (13 May) amid the brothers' bid for resentencing - after which they issued an emotional statement.

On the first day of Erik and Lyle Menendez 's resentencing hearing Tuesday, their cousins, a former judge and a former fellow inmate took to the witness stand to testify that the brothers were not only rehabilitated but helped others.