Published: 11:38 EST, 4 February 2025 | Updated: 11:44 EST, 4 February 2025

The Los Angeles DA's office is embroiled in a civil war over the long-awaited Menendez brothers resentencing hearing scheduled for March this year.

County prosecutors Brock Lunsford and Nancy Theberge are planning to sue District Attorney Nathan Hochman and his deputy John Lewin for retaliation, defamation, and discrimination after they clashed over the case.

Lunsford, who oversaw the resentencing unit, and Theberge, recommended that the Menendez brothers be freed from prison - at odds with the DAs who wanted them to remain behind bars.

As the hearing, which will decide the brothers' fate while bringing the grisly case back to the courtroom, looms, tensions between the legal heavyweights have come to a head - with the prosecutors filing an intent to sue letter seen by the LA Times.

Lunsford and Theberge argued that Erik and Lyle Menendez should be resentenced over the 1989 shotgun slaughter of their parents, Jose and Kitty, at their Beverly Hills home, because their imprisonment no longer served the interest of justice.

The high-profile case was also thrust back into the public spotlight this year thanks to a Netflix documentary which aired new allegations that Jose Menendez was sexually abusive towards his sons, who are now in their 50s.

The brothers claimed their father was sexually abusive at the time of their trial, but they were not allowed to present evidence about this, and were ultimately convicted of murder with special circumstances and sentenced to life behind bars.

They could be freed on parole following their resentencing hearing scheduled for March 20 - something which was not a possibility under their previous punishment.

The new hearing was slated in October 2024, when then-District Attorney George Gascon recommended the brothers be resentenced. Hochman, who was running against Gascon at the time, called it a 'desperate political move.'

County prosecutors Brock Lunsford and Nancy Theberge are planning to sue District Attorneys Nathan Hochman (pictured above after he was sworn in on December 3, 2024) and John Lewin for retaliation, defamation and discrimination after they clashed over the case.

Some high-ranking LA County prosecutors also disagreed with the decision, including Theberge and Lunsford's supervisor, according to their letter.

When Hochman became the new DA in November, he announced his intention to review the decision.

Lunsford, who has been with the DA's office for 25 years, said in his claim that at this point he was demoted to a 'calendar deputy' position.

Meanwhile, Hochman sent Theberge back to another public defender's office, despite receiving an exemplary performance review the day before, per the letter.

'They were just punished … they felt that the law said the Menendez brothers should be resentenced. These were two individuals who were just doing their job,' their attorney, Justin Shegerian, told the LA Times.

Lunsford and Theberge also claim Lewin defamed them in social media posts where he wrote that Theberge 'had no interest in justice, wanted to let criminals out of jail and was dishonest in her filings with the Court'.

In the letter, Lunsford accused Lewin - a very outspoken critic of the decision to resentence the brothers - of calling him a 'quisling' - something the prosecutor compared to being likened to a 'Nazi collaborator'.

DailyMail.com has contacted the DA's office for comment.

It comes as the much-anticipated resentencing hearing was pushed back two months from January 30 after the devastating LA wildfires obstructed preparations.

Giving an update on the case in December, Hochman said that the brothers' cases will be reviewed separately.

'While they're called the "Menendez brothers case," there's an Erik Menendez case and Lyle Menendez case,' District Attorney Nathan Hochman, who ousted former DA George Gascón, told NBC's Lester Holt.

'So we will look at each case separately, which is the way they actually should be handled.'

Hochman went on to say that the resentencing law requires prosecutors to look at each person involved separately and how they fit into the crime.

He's also aware of the case's gravity and how the verdict will shape resentencing requests in the future. 'We have to be consistent,' he said.

Hochman has been vocal about his disdain for Gascón’s handling of the case, as he claimed the former DA was using it to seek publicity.

The brothers' family, however, agreed with Gascón and are requesting the men be set free as they were victims of sexual abuse at the hands of their father.

Two deputies also submitted a 57-page filing in October stating the brothers were fully rehabilitated and recommended their sentence be reduced.

'We now understand that public safety is not best achieved through overly harsh punishments that ignore rehabilitation,' the filing stated.

They argued the brothers had 'transformed' and 'taken advantage of meaningful opportunities to mature, move beyond criminal thinking, repent, and become productive community members.'

Daily Mail UK: Los Angeles DA's office at war over Menendez brothers resentencing as potential lawsuit looms

Family of Erik and Lyle Menendez Underscore DA Hochman’s Flawed Arguments in Motion to Withdraw Resentencing Pathway Ahead of Hearing

People: Family of Menendez Brothers Will Meet Today with New L.A. County D.A., Who Is Mulling Brothers' Case