Lyle and Erik Menendez are set to be resentenced after serving 34 years behind bars for the conviction of killing their parents, Jose and Kitty, in 1989. It was believed that they wouldn't see life outside of prison for the rest of their lives. However, as of late, new evidence has arisen that could see them being released.
The reasoning behind was seen as being ludicrous and unheard of at the time. The reasoning was to stop the alleged physical and sexual abuse by their father. It was seen as a pathetic and unrealistic reason due to the belief that the kind of abuse that they went through was only done to girls and boys couldn't possibly go through it.
It was announced last Thursday by the L.A. District Attorney, George Gascón, that he reccomends that the brothers be resentenced. This essentially translates into their immediate release. There is talk of the brothers being released by thanksgiving.
It was recommended that the brothers receive a new sentence of 50 years to life. Since they were under 26 years old at the time of the crimes, they would be eligible for parole immediately under a California law that went into effect in 2018.
Gascón said he took several factors into consideration when making the decision. This included the brothers’ rehabilitation in prison. In documents filed by his office, prosecutors pointed to both brothers’ educational achievements - both have attained several degrees and have made contributions to the community, such as a GreenSpace prison beautification program started by Lyle Menendez. Both brothers also received low-risk assessment scores.
Gascón also said the trial would have been treated differently with today’s understanding of how sexual and physical abuse affects children.
This whole process started last year when their attorneys filed a writ of habeas corpus. This described that the dirty deed was done an act of, "imperfect self-defense, after a lifetime of physical and sexual abuse from their parents."
In addition to this, a letter was submitted. This was written by Erik when he was 13. This letter was written to a cousin, Andy Cano, which said, "Every night I stay up thinking he might come in." The petition additionally includes an allegation from Roy Rosselló, a former member of the boy band, Menudo, that "he was anally raped twice, and orally copulated, by Jose Menendez."
A file was isssued as part of the recommendation. It's 57 pages long and it contains glowing recommendations from prison officials and various programmes the brothers launched behind bars that aimed to help other inmates, including those who were victims of childhood trauma and disabled or elderly inmates. It also includes the educational degrees both brothers received while serving their sentences. All of this was done, the report notes, "without any expectation or hope of ever being released."
The family has pleaded for the brothers to be released. They all back the brothers intial defence. They also claim that they are no threat to society. Kitty Menendez's sister, Joan Anderson Vander Molen, argued, "The whole world wasn’t ready to believe that the boys could be raped or that young men could be victims of sexual violence." She said that now, "we know better" and "a jury today would never deliver such a harsh sentence."
There is one member who won't accept the brothers release. That one is their uncle, Milton Andersen. He is the brother of Kitty Menendez. He claims that the brothers are "cold-blooded" and their actions, "shattered their family and left a trail of grief that has persisted for decades."
"Jose was shot six times, and Kitty was shot ten times, including a shot to her face after Erik reloaded."
I could be wrong but I believe that the Netflix series and documentary was the main catalyst that sparked the latest interest in the case. Despite the sucess of the Monster series, Erik has slammed the series one day after it's release. He said, "I believed we had moved beyond the lies and ruinous character portrayals of Lyle, creating a caricature of Lyle rooted in horrible and blatant likes rampant in the show," read a statement from Erik that was shared via Lyle’s Facebook page. "I can only believe they were done so on purpose. It is with a heavy heart that I say, I believe Ryan Murphy cannot be this naive and inaccurate about the facts of our lives so as to do this without bad intent."
Murphy, however, stood by his decision not to pick a side on screen. Less than one week after Monster was released, Netflix announced that Lyle and Erik were interviewed for The Menéndez Brothers documentary. The October 2024 release includes footage from conversations with juror, Betty Oldfield, Kitty’s sister, Joan Vander Molen and prosecutor, Pamela Bozanich.
Erik, for his part, will have a a support system when he gets out. He has a wife, Tammi and a daughter. The daughter sees Erik as her true dad. This comes after her biological dad passed away when she was ten months old.
The case will now go to a judge. If the judge agrees with the recommendation of the District Attorney; then it will go to the parole board. If the parole hearing is successful, it will then go to the Governer to sign off on the release.
To be honest, I was completely oblivious to this whole case prior to the series/documentary coming out. I was aware of the brothers but wasn't aware of the reasoning behind the infamy. I would believe that since the crime happened 5 years before I was born; there was no way that I could be aware of the crime. There wasn't much media hype regarding the brothers as much as there was on, for example, OJ Simpson.
It feels hard to form an opinion on the matter. I suppose it's a good thing that they are getting a lot of support for their release. They've served their time and seem to have turned over a new leaf. They have seemingly paid their debt to society and they are doing good things for the community. They've clearly turned into model citizens.
On the other hand, murder is not the way to go. If they were getting abused, there were other ways to deal with it. For example, they could've gone to the police and report it. Alternatively, they could've told Dr. Oziel who would then be obligated to go to the authorities.
I guess I'm sitting firmly on the fence to the whole situation.