Re-sentencing of Menendez Brothers in 1990s Los Angeles Would Have Sparked Surprise
A New Twist in the Menendez Brothers' Saga
Remember when the Menendez Brothers' tale was all over the news back in the day? Well, guess who's back in the spotlight now? That's right, the infamous duo from Southern California.
I can't believe it, but I never caught the wave of documentaries and dramatizations about them. I mean, their notoriety is such that they should've trademarked their names already. But here we are!
So imagine my surprise when L.A. County Dist. Atty. George Gascon announced last year that he was backing a resentencing of the brothers. Fast-forward to yesterday, when L.A. County Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic agreed.
The Menendez brothers now face 50 years to life in prison, which makes them eligible for parole since they committed their murders before they were 26 years old. My colleagues James Queally and Richard Winton - the Freddie Freeman and Shohei Ohtani of local crime reporting - have all the details.
From Heinous Rich Boys to Public Sympathy
Growing up in a Latino Catholic household in Southern California in the 1990s, there were no monsters worse than Erik and Lyle Menendez. I was 10 years old when their parents, Jose and Kitty, were brutally killed in their Beverly Hills home. Their sons were arrested on suspicion of murdering their parents the following year and went through two trials before a jury found them guilty of first-degree murder in 1996. A judge sentenced them to life in prison without the possibility of parole. We all thought that was that.
Erik and Lyle garnered next to no public sympathy that I could remember. Lyle did them no favors by going on spending sprees in the months after their parents' deaths, according to witnesses. Nobody bought the story that the two did it because Jose sexually abused them while Kitty did nothing. It also didn't help that courtroom footage and photos of the Menendez brothers - Erik's intense stare, Lyle's dead eyes, both wearing pastel sweaters in an effort to soften their image - cast them as poor little rich boys who thought they could get away with anything.
The teenage part of me today still can't believe Erik and Lyle have any supporters at all. Who would ever support someone who shot their mother dead while she was trying to crawl away, as Lyle testified in the first trial? The adult part of me knows that public perception of them has dramatically changed in the time they've been imprisoned.
A series of updates supported their story that their father had abused them. A Netflix show produced by Ryan Murphy softened their image; a Netflix documentary retold their story to a new generation. More important, their extended family united to argue they and the brothers have suffered enough and want to close the sad Menendez saga once and for all.
"I don't think they are the same people they were 30 years ago," Anamaria Baralt, a cousin of the brothers, said on the stand during the resentencing hearing.
At this point, the only person who seems to be angry about the idea of the Menendez brothers having a chance at parole is L.A. County Dist. Atty. Nathan Hochman. He unsuccessfully fought to overturn Gascon’s request for a resentencing hearing, and his prosecutors unsuccessfully argued against it at the Van Nuys courthouse on Tuesday. Hochman’s office was so unsuccessful, in fact, that Judge Jesic issued his ruling after just a day of hearings, when everyone expected at least two.
Stay tuned for the Menendez brothers' parole hearing, which is yet to be scheduled. Governor Gavin Newsom and future governors can keep them incarcerated forever. But teenage me never would have believed they could get to this point. What's next, he would have asked: OJ Simpson, a criminal?
- The recent news about the Menendez Brothers' case brings back memories of a sensational tale that dominated general-news and crime-and-justice headlines in the past.
- With the Menendez Brothers back in the spotlight, it seems that the realm of sports could use a break from their ongoing saga.
- As a matter of opinion, the immigration reform proposals being debated in the government could learn a thing or two from the drawn-out Menendez Brothers' case.
- Just as the Menendez Brothers' case has taken a new twist, so has the discussion around climate change and its impacts on California's environment.
- In the world of entertainment, the success of the Netflix show and documentary on the Menendez Brothers has raised questions about the blurred line between presenting facts and manipulating public opinion.
- The Los Angeles County District Attorney's office, which has been central to the Menendez Brothers' case, is also responsible for enforcing business-related laws and regulations in the city.
- The recent transformation in public perception of the Menendez Brothers mirrors the evolution of technology, where once unimaginable advancements have become commonplace.
- As the Menendez Brothers' parole hearing approaches, one wonders if the justice system will be as efficient as the rapid advancements in healthcare technology.
- As the Menendez Brothers' case progresses, it serves as a reminder of the role that television plays in shaping our opinions and perceptions of events and people.
- With the Menendez Brothers' potential release looming, the question of whether they truly deserve a second chance, given their heinous crimes, resonates with the ongoing debate on rehabilitation and justice within our society.
