The Menéndez brothers can now aspire to freedom after a court ruling.

A U.S. judge on Tuesday reduced the life sentences imposed on brothers Lyle and Erik Menendez, convicted of murdering their parents in 1989. This decision gives them, for the first time in more than three decades, the opportunity to access a parole hearing.

With more than 35 years in prison, the brothers were serving a life sentence without parole. However, Judge Michael Jesic, during a hearing held in Los Angeles, ruled to reduce their sentences to a range of 50 years to life.

"I think they've done enough in these 35 years to give them a chance to be released one day," the judge said.

At the end of the hearing, Lyle Menendez expressed “deep shame” for his past actions: “I committed an atrocious act against two people who had the right to live: my mother and my father.” Erik, for his part, took full responsibility: “I shot my parents five times and then reloaded. I lied to the police, I lied to my family. I am truly sorry.”

The hearing culminates years of efforts by family members and advocates to secure his release. One of the most persistent voices has been that of his cousin, Anamaria Beralt, who said the statements were "very moving" and expressed relief that "everyone was able to hear them."

The Menéndez case has regained media attention thanks to the Netflix series Monsters: The Lyle & Erik Menéndez Story , a companion documentary, and the renewed interest of a generation reconsidering the case in light of the sexual abuse allegations the brothers attributed to their Cuban-born father, José Menéndez.

The incident occurred on August 20, 1989, at the family mansion in Beverly Hills. Initially, the brothers told police they had found the bodies upon returning home. However, suspicions grew when they began to spend the family fortune lavishly, which ultimately led to their trial. After two trials, they were found guilty of the crime.