Menendez brothers' 92-year-old aunt in tears as she begs for her nephews' release

Erik and Lyle Menendez's aunt, Joan VanderMolen, who is the sister of slain Kitty Menendez, made a teary-eyed plea to have her nephews return home.

Over a dozen of Erik and Lyle Menendez 's family members flew across the country to attend a press conference after new evidence had been presented that could potentially exonerate the brothers. Joan admitted she was nervous as she jumped into a powerful speech, urging the public to a sign a petition as she explained how she's "struggled to come to terms" with the "nightmare" her family has been through.

Joan said: "As details of Erik and Lyle’s abuse came to light, it became clear that their actions, while tragic, were the desperate response of two boys trying to survive the unbreakable cruelty of their father. As their aunt, I had no idea of the extent of the abuse they suffered at the hands of my brother-in-law. None of us did, but looking back I can see the fear and tension that their father had instilled in them. They were just children, children who could have been protected by were instead brutalized in the most horrific ways."

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"The truth is Lyle and Erik were failed by the very people who should have protected them by their parents, by the system, by society at large. When they stood trial, the whole world was [not] ready to believe boys could be raped or that young men could be victims of sexual violence today. We know better. We know that abuse has long lasting effects and that victims of trauma sometimes act in ways that are very difficult to understand."

"Nothing she'd like more than to have them home for Thanksgiving," attorney Mark Geragos said following Joan's speech. He stressed that Marsy's Law sets an avenue for victims of a crime to be considered in the sentencing and, in this case, he claimed that the Mendendez brothers' family is resoundingly asking for their release.

Erik and Lyle were convicted of murdering their parents, Jose and Kitty, and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. The murder occurred in 1989, and while the brothers do not deny killing their parents, they insist that the murder was in retaliation against threats their parents made against them. The brothers claim Kitty and Jose threatened to kill them to prevent Erik from exposing Jose's long-time pattern of sexual molestation against him.

The new evidence includes a letter penned by Erik to his cousin, Andy, in which he expressed fear of his father.

"I’ve been trying to avoid dad. It's still happening Andy but it's worse for me now," the letter stated. "I never know when it's going to happen and its driving me crazy. Every night I stay up thinking he might come in."