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.

The family of Lyle and Erik Menendez urged a judge Tuesday to let them out of prison, more than three decades after the brothers shot their parents to death.

The first witness, Erik and Lyle Menendez's cousin Anamaria Baralt, was adamant that the brothers had earned their chance at freedom.