Lyle and Erik Menendez have been given a glimpse of an alternate reality. On Oct. 24, the Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón released a petition for the resentencing of the Menendez brothers after they served 35 years of the original life sentence they received for murdering their parents, José and Mary “Kitty” Menendez, in 1989. This petition will then be sent to a judge, who will need to approve the document before it is sent to the parole board. The parole board will be the final decision maker behind whether or not the brothers have received the necessary rehabilitation to be given the possibility of parole or being released. According to USA Today, due to California law, the brothers will be eligible for parole immediately due to them being under the age of 26 when the crime was committed. Once the petition is given to the judge, supposedly in the next 30 to 45 days, the brothers will be permitted to attend and make their arguments at the hearing, either in person or through a Zoom meeting.
The decision to file the petition was made with careful consideration and was highly anticipated by the media. When deciding to file the petition, Gascón was able to review the new evidence provided, combined with studying the brothers’ current behavior in prison. This new evidence consisted of a letter written by E. Menendez, detailing the sexual abuse he experienced at the hands of his father, and a former Menudo band member’s accusation of sexual abuse at the hands of the same J. Menendez. Along with this evidence, the brothers have shown rehabilitation after their incarceration. L. Menendez has provided a voice for other inmates about living conditions, and they have worked together to create support groups for other survivors of trauma and for disabled prisoners, based on USA Today. Gascón also gave a statement saying that “all this was done by two young people that had no hopes of ever getting out of prison,” showing his support for the fact that they have shown recovery from the state they were in 35 years ago.
Gascón’s decision to give the Menendez brothers a second chance was faced with some opposing perspectives on the matter. At the press conference Gascón held for the announcement, he faced some verbal backlash from one of the reporters. Daily Mail states that Gascón snapped back at a reporter with a stern order to stop because he was “not going to talk about the re-election” when accused of making this decision to help himself in his re-election for LA District Attorney. The reporter also asked if he was trying to gain “political points” before the upcoming election, to which Gascón steered the conversation back to the case. However, negativity has not been the only response to this plea for reconsideration, as popular celebrity Kim Kardashian has shown support for the Menendez brothers throughout their journey in jail. One major display of this support is her taking “Monsters” star Cooper Koch, who played E. Menendez, to visit the brothers at Donovan Correctional Facility where they are being held. USA Today gives us some of Kardashian’s statements, saying that they were “granted a second chance at life,” and Gascón’s “commitment to truth and fairness is commendable.”
There will most likely never be a reality where this case does not have a significant amount of controversy behind it. Whether it is controversy about the Menendez brothers’ claims or speculation about the people supporting them, the media allows every perspective to be seen in clarity. Hopefully the judge and parole board will provide their decisions soon, as the public is waiting on the edge of their seats for the results.
