Now that their case is being shared with a younger generation that may not have known about it previously, supporters for their release see momentum growing. This is because to a strong social media campaign on websites like TikTok. A letter-writing campaign requesting California Governor Gavin Newsom to release the siblings is a part of it.
According to writer Robert Rand, the imprisonment of Erik and Lyle Menendez has not made California’s streets any safer.
The Menendez Murders author predicts that in 2023, attorneys “are going to submit a petition of habeas corpus, and they’re going to ask for a new trial,” although Rand adds that this is “not sure.”
In reference to a 1988 letter Erik sent regarding his father’s abuse, he says, “The bar for filing is you have to have new evidence that was not accessible at the time of the trial, and they do have new evidence.” The brothers may receive a respite as a result of that letter at a time when society is more sympathetic to male sexual assault victims, according to Rand.
However, a number of legal experts believe that even with cultural changes, it will be difficult to liberate Lyle and Erik, who are now in their 50s.
There is always a chance of a new trial. The possibility is uncertain, defense lawyer Stanley Goldman of Los Angeles and professor of law told A&E True Crime.
A&E True Crime receives an email from a Newsom spokesman stating that “information related commutation applications is private. The governor views mercy as a crucial component of the criminal justice system, and every application is carefully and thoroughly considered.
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‘He Would Murder Us’
Both brothers claim that billionaire Hollywood entrepreneur Jose Menendez molested them sexually for several years.
Erik said in court that the molestation began when he was 6 years old. Jose Menendez “threw me on the bed and went to fetch a knife and put it at my throat” as the 17-year-old fought.
In the fall of 1989, Erik enrolled at the University of California, Los Angeles in the hopes that it would offer an escape. However, Jose Menendez’s order for his youngest son to spend a few evenings each week at home baffled the 18-year-old, who confided in his brother Lyle, who is 21 years old.
Jose said, “We all make decisions in our life,” when Lyle yelled for the abuse to stop and threatened to inform the authorities. Eric created his. You made yours,” he said in court.
Lyle replied, “I feared we were in danger. He would murder us. I was going to wreck him, after all.
Erik recalled Kitty Menendez telling him on August 19, 1989, “If I’d kept my mouth shut, things would have worked out in the family,” despite the fact that her sons viewed her as psychologically disturbed.
The brothers barged into the family room the following night with shotguns and opening fire. Jose Menendez was shot many times in the head, among other injuries. Lyle hastily reloaded and shot at Kitty Menendez’s face since she didn’t fall victim to his bullets right away.
Detectives first looked into the possibility that the killings were an organized criminal hit. However, Lyle and Erik made ostentatious expenditures, including a Porsche, a restaurant, and professional tennis lessons, which led authorities to question whether the $14 million house was the driving force behind the murders.
Erik, who was devastated by the incident, sought treatment and confided in a psychotherapist, whose mistress subsequently told the police about it.
In March 1990, the siblings were detained and put on separate trials. Numerous witnesses testified throughout the dramatic court case, providing disturbing details about Jose Menendez. Prosecutors claimed that the brothers lied in order to divert attention from their greed-fueled rampage when they rose to fame.
Due to jury disagreement about whether to find a defendant guilty of murder or manslaughter, both cases were declared mistrials. However, a 1996 combined trial ended in murder verdicts and life without parole terms.
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Jail Life For Erik And Lyle Menendez In 2022
Lyle Menendez and Erik were reunited in 2018 at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego after spending years in prison apart. A significant number of COVID-19 cases and deaths at the institution attracted attention in 2021.
Rand contacted Lyle Menendez in May 2022 and gave a description of both brothers. Rand interviewed the brothers two months after the killings and remains in contact with the family.
Lyle is doing wonderfully, according to Rand, and he looks terrific. The fact that Lyle and Erik are both making significant contributions to their jail communities in 2022 is what’s actually significant. Lyle is actively involved in the movement for prison reform, and he and his brother are now co-creating a sizable mural to be painted on the jail’s gray concrete walls.
Rand adds that the brothers offer counseling to other inmates who have been sexually abused. “Erik conducts many self-help groups every week at Donovan, including a mindful meditation group and has launched a hospice group at Donovan,” Rand says.
A New Wave of Menendez Advocates
The Menendez Brothers & Survivors Facebook group, which has roughly 1,800 followers, is managed by Brittany Outlaw of Indiana and her sister Renee Ochs of Rhode Island. It provides a forum for abuse victims to speak out and support Lyle and Eric.
According to Ochs, 21, a TikTok video she viewed about the case in 2020 struck a chord.
“Simply because I experienced comparable torture to what they did, I was quite curious.
“If [the crimes] had been committed today, there is no question in my view that they would not be serving the present term. We now have greater empathy and recognize that guys experience sexual assault just like girls, she says.
35-year-old outlaw claims on A&E True Crime It’s a fallacy that only teenagers and young adults believe in Lyle and Erik. In her early years, she became aware of the case. Outlaw claims, “I believed them and felt so awful for them.” They were battling for more than just their lives—the death sentence was being sought by the prosecution—they were battling to be taken seriously, and people teased them.
Mother’s Murder Pivotal
According to Laurie Levenson, a law professor at Loyola Marymount University, despite the campaigning, there are considerable barriers to Lyle and Erik Menendez’s release.
Given their sentences, Levenson, co-founder of the Loyola Project for the Innocent, which seeks to overturn false convictions, says it is “unclear to me how they would receive a parole hearing because they are not old.” And I am unaware of any other statutes that may result in their resentencing.
It’s “not as easy as stepping in and claiming ‘we were victims of abuse’ because it came up in the trial — that’s not a fresh aspect here,'” the attorney said of this case. In their instance, it took center stage.
Regarding direct appeals to Newsom, “I believe they are unlikely to be effective. Low-profile instances decrease your chances of receiving help.
All three Menendez trials were presided over by Stanley M. Weisberg, a judge in the Los Angeles County Superior Court. In the second, he tightened the criteria for a manslaughter finding, banned courtroom cameras, and disqualified 30 prior defense witnesses.
The first trial and the second trial were conducted in starkly different ways, according to Goldman. “I’ve always assumed that the judge was embarrassed during the second trial since the case had gone so out of hand with each jury returning with a 6-6 split between manslaughter and murder.”
But are different trial rules sufficient to change the sentences?
The brothers’ demise was probably sealed by Goldman reloading a shotgun to fire the fatal shot at Kitty Menendez. That one murder would be sufficient to sentence them to life in prison without the chance of release.
