Relatives of the Menendez brothers gather outside the LA courthouse as the prosecutor considers a resentencing

LOS ANGELES – The extended family of Erik and Lyle Menendez are expected to gather outside a Los Angeles courthouse on Wednesday as the district attorney weighs whether to re-sentence the brothers convicted of killing their parents nearly three decades ago should possibly be released.

Nearly two dozen family members will hold a press conference outside the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in downtown LA on Wednesday at 1 p.m. PT. They will be joined by the brothers' defense attorney, Mark Geragos, and Rosie O'Donnell, one of their prominent attorneys.

The timing of the press conference is remarkable. Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón said earlier this month that his office was reviewing the convictions of the brothers convicted in the 1989 murders of their parents, Jose and Mary Louise “Kitty” Menendez.

Gascón, a progressive running for re-election, will not attend the rally, according to a statement from his office.

“A decision in the Menendez case has not yet been made. Once Prosecutor Gascón makes a decision, the victims’ family members and the public will be notified,” the statement said.

The Menendez brothers are “cautiously optimistic” about the prosecution's review, Geragos told NBC Los Angeles on Tuesday.

Erik and Lyle Menendez were convicted 28 years ago and sentenced to life in prison without parole. The case attracted widespread attention at the time, making the brothers from Beverly Hills household names and giving them national fame.

The legal saga has sparked renewed public interest since the release of “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story,” a Netflix miniseries co-created by Ryan Murphy, and “The Menendez Brothers,” a feature-length Netflix documentary.

The series and documentary document the years of sexual, physical and emotional abuse the brothers allegedly endured at the hands of their father, a record company executive.

The brothers' lawyers argued they acted in self-defense out of fear and trauma. Prosecutors argued they killed their parents to inherit money and went on a spending spree after the murders.

The brothers were first tried together in 1993, and the televised trial ended with a hung jury. When they were retried in 1995, most of their sexual abuse allegations were ruled inadmissible in court.

Family members scheduled to speak at Wednesday's news conference include Anamaria Baralt, Jose Menendez's niece; Joan Anderson VanderMolen, sister of Kitty Menendez; Karen VanderMolen, niece of Kitty Menendez; and Brian A. Anderson Jr., nephew of Kitty Menendez.

O'Donnell isn't the only celebrity to have thrown their support behind the brothers. Kim Kardashian, who has used her platform to advocate for criminal justice issues, called for its publication in a personal essay shared exclusively with NBC News this month.

“I have spent time with Lyle and Erik,” the reality TV star wrote in part, and “they are not monsters.” She argued that the siblings were treated unfairly by both prosecutors and the 1990s news media .

In a press conference on October 3, Gascón said that during his time in office more than 300 people had been re-convicted and only four had re-offended.

Gascón was elected in 2020 on a reformist platform. Recent polls show him trailing his challenger Nathan Hochman, a former federal prosecutor.

Laurie Levenson, a professor at Loyola Law School who specializes in criminal cases, said the renewed public attention on the Menendez case only goes so far.

“It is the court of public opinion that may provide some majority support for the defendants, but it is the court where the decision is made,” Levenson said.

Andrew Blankstein reported from Los Angeles and Daniel Arkin from New York.

CORRECTION (October 16, 2024, 9:18 a.m. ET): An earlier version of this article misstated the date of Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón's press conference. It was October 3rd, not October 7th.