After Erik and Lyle Menendez received a new date for a hearing in November for the 1989 murders of their parents, Jose and Kitty, a plea for their release has come from an unlikely source- Kim Kardashian.
The case of the Menendez brothers has seen fresh interest since the release of Ryan Murphy’s Netflix drama series, Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.
Even though it was slammed by Erik for 'inaccuracies', many more people now know what happened that night, and the years of abuse the pair claimed to endure.
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It was in 1996 that the Menendez brothers pleaded guilty to murdering their parents, and were sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.
Lyle and Erik were aged just 18 and 21 respectively, and, having spent nearly 35 years in prison, a lot of people have come out to petition for their release.
24 family members even wrote letters in support of the pair, as well as social media fans and Erik’s daughter making emotional pleas for their case.
But off the back of Murphy’s series, the actor who played Erik (Cooper Koch) and Kim Kardashian decided to pay the brothers a visit.
According to PEOPLE Magazine, Kim and Cooper visited the brothers to discuss the Green Space project, which is a movement arranged by the California Department of Corrections & Rehabilitation to change prison life so it resembles the outside world.
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But it appears that meeting the brothers has had an effect on the trainee lawyer, who has penned a statement on NBC.
The Dash mogul began by explaining that ‘we are all products of our experiences’ and recapping their crime for readers, before moving on to slate the second trial in 1999 which banished their abuse defence and ruled the evidence inadmissible.
Kardashian even focused on how the new judge ‘changed the rules’ by taking manslaughter off the menu for jurors to choose.
She wrote: “Some witnesses from the first trial were barred from testifying about the alleged abuse, depriving the jurors of crucial evidence. The prosecutor, having successfully argued to exclude the abuse testimony, mocked the brothers’ defence during his closing arguments for not producing any evidence of abuse.
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“Their lawyer has since said the judge’s rulings essentially acted as a ‘directed’ verdict. And so, the brothers were convicted. They were sentenced to life without the possibility of parole and have remained incarcerated for almost 35 years. Their only way out of prison now is death.”
The celebrity explained how the Menendez retrial came just eight days after O.J. Simpson’s acquittal, which was handled by the same DA Office.
“The first trial was televised for all to see, and Erik and Lyle’s case became entertainment for the nation, their suffering and stories of abuse ridiculed in skits on Saturday Night Live. The media turned the brothers into monsters and sensationalised eye candy — two arrogant, rich kids from Beverly Hills who killed their parents out of greed. There was no room for empathy, let alone sympathy,” she stated.
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Claiming that ‘Erik and Lyle had no chance of a fair trial against this backdrop’, she asked the question of whether anyone could ‘honestly deny that the justice system would have treated the Menendez sisters more leniently?’
Explaining her time with the brothers, she expressed how they are ‘kind, intelligent, and honest men’ with ‘exemplary disciplinary records’, having been caregivers for elderly inmates in hospice, choosing to continue their education and even mentoring others.
She shared that even ‘one of the wardens told me he would feel comfortable having them as neighbors’, and that although the ‘killings are not excusable’, ‘we should not deny who they are today in their 50s’.
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Kardashian stated: “The trial and punishment these brothers received were more befitting a serial killer than two individuals who endured years of sexual abuse by the very people they loved and trusted.
“I don’t believe that spending their entire natural lives incarcerated was the right punishment for this complex case. Had this crime been committed and trialed today, I believe the outcome would have been dramatically different.”
She went on to claim that the ‘exclusion of crucial abuse evidence denied Erik and Lyle the opportunity to fully present their case, further undermining the fairness of their conviction’ and now hopes that their sentences are reconsidered.
She said: “We owe it to those little boys who lost their childhoods, who never had a chance to be heard, helped or saved.”
Topics: Menendez Brothers, Netflix, Kim Kardashian, True Crime
Britt Jones