Kim Kardashian, known for her commitment to criminal justice reform, is now calling for the release of Erik and Lyle Menendez as Los Angeles prosecutors begin reviewing new evidence in their decades-old case. The Menendez brothers have been serving life sentences without the possibility of parole for the 1989 murder of their parents, José and Kitty Menendez, in their Beverly Hills mansion. Kardashian believes the brothers were denied a fair trial due to the overwhelming media attention surrounding their first trial, which was the first nationally televised criminal case in U.S. history.
In a personal essay, Kardashian argues that the portrayal of the brothers as “two arrogant, rich kids from Beverly Hills” who killed their parents out of greed unfairly influenced public opinion and the court. She met with the Menendez brothers during a recent visit to a state prison near San Diego, where she delivered a talk on prison reform. Kardashian emphasized that the media trivialized the brothers’ claims of sexual and emotional abuse, reducing their suffering to comedy skits on shows like Saturday Night Live. “There was no room for empathy, let alone sympathy,” she wrote.
Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón announced his office’s review of new evidence, which includes a letter Erik Menendez wrote in the late 1980s detailing the sexual abuse he endured at the hands of his father. Gascón stated that while there is no dispute that the brothers committed the murders, the new evidence may warrant a reconsideration of their sentences.
The Menendez brothers have always maintained that they killed their parents in self-defense after years of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse. Their attorneys argue that societal views on sexual abuse have shifted significantly in the last three decades, and had the trial occurred today, they might have been charged with manslaughter instead of first-degree murder.
The case has garnered renewed attention due to Netflix’s true-crime drama Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, which Erik Menendez criticized in a statement as a “dishonest portrayal” of the abuse they suffered. Kardashian and the brothers’ legal team hope that this cultural shift and new evidence will lead to a resentencing, allowing the brothers a chance at freedom after more than 30 years in prison.
The Menendez family, including their aunt Joan VanderMolen, supports the brothers’ release. “She wishes nothing more than for them to be released,” said Bryan Freedman, the family’s lawyer. Attorney Cliff Gardner, representing the brothers, echoed the sentiment, stating, “Given today’s understanding of sexual abuse and the new evidence, resentencing is the appropriate result.”
A hearing is scheduled for November 29, with the district attorney’s office continuing its review. Despite spending over three decades in prison, the Menendez brothers have been model prisoners, with Lyle recently earning a sociology degree from the University of California, Irvine.
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