The family of brothers Erik and Lyle Menendez, imprisoned for 28 years for the murder of their parents, is calling for their release after the unveiling of a letter dating from 1988.
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Both men were sentenced to life in prison without parole in 1996 for killing their parents in 1989.
The brothers had alleged during their trial that they had committed the murders to escape the sexual and emotional abuse they were suffering, but the jury did not take this into account.
The Los Angeles District Attorney on Sunday revealed a letter believed to date from 1988, a few months before the murders, in which Erik Menendez explains to his cousin, Andy Cano, the abuse he says he experienced.
“I tried to avoid Dad. It still happens, Andy, but it’s worse for me now, the letter reads. I never know when it’s going to happen and it drives me crazy. Every night I lie awake thinking that maybe he’s going to come.”
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At a press conference, several members of the Menendez family spoke in turn to demand their release.
According to the Menendez brothers’ aunt, Joan VanderMolen, the two men would have been judged differently if they had gone to trial in 2024.
“When they stood trial, the world was not ready to believe that they could have been raped,” she said. Today we know that abuse has long-term effects and that trauma victims act in ways that are sometimes difficult to understand.”
She is convinced that the new evidence could have worked in their favor.
“In their case, we believe the evidence of their abuse would not only be accepted in court, but would help explain why they acted as they did. [si elles étaient présentées aujourd’hui]“, she believes.
“No jury today would pronounce such a strong sentence without taking into consideration their trauma,” she continues.
She explains that she was perplexed for a long time about what had happened to her sister, but she is now convinced that her two nephews must be released.
“For years, I struggled to understand what had happened to my sister’s family,” says M.me VanderMolen. But when details of Lyle and Erik’s abuse surfaced, it became clear that their actions, while tragic, were a reaction of two boys trying to survive their father’s actions. .”
“Lyle and Erik have already paid a heavy price in the context of a system that was unable to recognize what they experienced,” she adds. They changed and became better men. This is the time to give them the opportunity to live their lives free from the shadow of their past.”
A petition was launched by the family, aiming to put pressure on the prosecutor.
As of this writing, it has more than 413,000 signatures.
The Menendez brothers’ case has been thrust into the spotlight over the past year, including the release of a Netflix series and a documentary about their story.
A new hearing in this case will take place in November.
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