Los Angeles prosecutor George Gascon announced Thursday the reopening of the case of Erik and Lyle Menendez, the two brothers famous for the murder of their parents in 1989. This opens the way to possible parole. Lyle and Erik Menendez had admitted to killing their parents, claiming they suffered years of sexual abuse at the hands of their father.
George Gascon said prosecutors would ask a judge to review the Menendez brothers’ convictions, potentially making them “eligible for parole.” “The Court must agree with my conclusion that they deserve to get another sentence. »
The context of the MeToo movement
The Los Angeles prosecutor admitted that the Netflix series Monsters: The Story of Lyle and Erik Menendez had influenced the decision to reconsider the case of the two brothers in the context of the #MeToo movement, which has changed the perception of sexual assault. “I think a lot of times, for cultural reasons, we don’t believe victims of sexual assault, whether they’re women or men,” he said.
Thursday, some members praised the “compassion” of prosecutor George Gascon. “We know that this decision was not easy to make, but it is the right one,” said the cousin of the two brothers, Karen VanderMolen. The re-examination of their cases “gives us all hope that the truth will finally be heard and that Erik and Lyle can begin to heal from the horrors of their past,” she added.
In 2023, Lyle and Erik Menendez had already requested a hearing after singer Roy Rosselló had also accused their father of sexual abuse. More recently, several celebrities, including Kim Kardashian, had called for their release.
A media frenzy at the time
The murder of José and Mary Louise Menendez in their Beverly Hills home caused a media frenzy in the United States. At the time, the trial of the two brothers, aged 18 and 21 at the time of the events, had been broadcast on television, a new phenomenon.
In 1996, after a second trial, Lyle and Erik were sentenced to life without parole, with prosecutors saying they killed their parents to inherit their $14 million fortune. The judge then refused to take into account several elements relating to the accusations of sexual abuse made by the brothers.
Source: www.20minutes.fr
