Reality star Kim Kardashian, who has been pursuing a law degree since 2018 in an effort to further her criminal justice reform advocacy, is calling for the life sentences of convicted murderers Lyle and Erik Menendez to be reconsidered.
Lyle Menendez, 56, and Erik Menendez, 53, were found guilty in March 1996 of murdering their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez, after undergoing two trials—the first of which resulted in a deadlocked jury. The brothers were subsequently sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
“According to Lyle, the abuse started when he was just 6 years old, and Erik said he was raped by his father for more than a decade,” the television personality wrote.
New Court Hearing
The murders of Jose and Kitty Menendez, committed on Aug. 20, 1989, are the subject of the second season of Netflix’s hit biographical crime drama anthology “Monster,” a television series that profiles infamous criminal cases from around the country.Following the success of “Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story,” released in September 2022, “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story,” debuted on Sept. 19 of this year, putting the Menendez brothers back in the spotlight.
On Oct. 3, a little over 35 years after the brothers shot and killed their parents in their Beverly Hills home, Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón announced that a new court hearing has been set for Nov. 29 so that prosecutors can review the case and determine whether or not the brothers should be serving life sentences.
Gascón said his decision follows the emergence of new evidence that corroborates the brothers’ claims of sexual abuse by their father, including a letter written by Erik Menendez to his cousin in 1988—months before the murders—in which he detailed the abuse.
“We’re not saying that there was anything wrong with the original trial. We have been given evidence,” Gascón said during a news conference on Oct. 3.
‘They Are Not Monsters’
In her open letter, Kardashian conveyed her hope that the court will reassess the life sentences of the brothers, sharing her belief that they did not receive a fair second trial.“Both brothers were tried together before a single jury, much of the abuse evidence was deemed inadmissible, and manslaughter was no longer an option,” she wrote. “Some witnesses from the first trial were barred from testifying about the alleged abuse, depriving the jurors of crucial evidence.”
Kardashian remarked that, at that time, there were also limited resources available for such victims. “There were virtually no systems in place to support survivors, and public awareness of the trauma of male sexual abuse was minimal,” she wrote.
“Robbed of their childhoods by their parents, then robbed of any chance of freedom by a criminal justice system eager to punish them without considering the context or understanding the ‘why,’ and without caring about whether the punishment fit the crime, Erik and Lyle were condemned before the trial even began.”
Kardashian made it clear that the murders perpetrated by the Menendez brothers were wholly inexcusable. However, she reiterated her belief that their convictions of life sentences were unjust.
“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,” the reality star wrote.
Elsewhere in her letter, Kardashian recalled her recent visit with the brothers, noting that both have earned multiple college degrees and have exemplary disciplinary records at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego, where they are currently incarcerated.
She also noted that the brothers are “committed to giving back to others,” sharing that they have provided care for the elderly inmates in hospice and have also worked as mentors in college programs.
“I have spent time with Lyle and Erik,” Kardashian wrote, referring to the brothers as “kind, intelligent, and honest men.”
She added: “They are not monsters.”
