Kim Kardashian has urged prosecutors in the US to reconsider the life sentences given to the Menendez brothers, who killed their parents in their Beverly Hills mansion in August 1989.
The US reality star and entrepreneur, who often advocates for prison reform, said she visited prison three weeks ago to meet Lyle and Erik Menendez – who have always claimed their violent actions were rooted in a lifetime of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse at the hands of their parents, José and Mary Louise ‘Kitty’ Menendez.
“They are not monsters. They are kind, intelligent, and honest men,” Kardashian wrote in an essay for NBC News.
In her essay, Kardashian also said: “You think you know the story of Lyle and Erik Menendez. I certainly thought I did: In 1989, the brothers, aged 21 and 18, respectively, viciously shot and killed their parents in their Beverly Hills home.
“In 1996, after two trials, they were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
“As is often the case, this story is much more complex than it appears on the surface. Both brothers said they had been sexually, physically, and emotionally abused for years by their parents.”
Lyle and Erik Menendez initially told police they found their parents dead, but later said their violent actions were retribution for the abuse they allegedly endured.
In a trial, prosecutors said there was no evidence of any abuse, and the young brothers had killed their parents to inherit the family fortune.
In her essay, Kardashian said she wanted to make clear that “the killings are not excusable”, but that she hoped Lyle and Erik Menendez’s life sentences are “reconsidered”.
“We owe it to those little boys who lost their childhoods, who never had a chance to be heard, helped or saved,” the 43-year-old added.
Her comments came after Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascon confirmed the brothers will get a court hearing in November after his office received new evidence that allegedly corroborates claims that Erik Menendez was sexually abused by his father.
During a press conference, Gascon said his office would review the new evidence and decide whether the case should be considered for resentencing, setting a hearing date for 29 November.
The case has been in the spotlight in recent weeks after Netflix launched the series Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story from co-creators Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan.
The nine-part series stars Cooper Koch and Nicholas Chavez as brothers Lyle and Erik Menendez, respectively, while Oscar-winner Javier Bardem and Chloé Sevigny portray their parents, José and Mary Louise ‘Kitty’ Menendez.
“We gave them their moment in the court of public opinion… I think they can be out of prison by Christmas. I really believe that,” Murphy told Variety magazine after Gascon confirmed a review of the case was being undertaken.
The real Erik Menendez has previously criticised the Netflix series in a statement shared by his wife Tammi Menendez on X, calling it a “dishonest portrayal” of a time when prosecutors “built a narrative on a belief system that males were not sexually abused”.
Source: Press Association