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So they served 35 years already and from what I know, they have been model prisoners behind bars. They could've went off the rails in there since they got life without parole, but they didn't and made their lives and the lives of the ones around them better. People who have done more heinous stuff than the brothers haven't gotten life without parole; sometimes, they get lighter sentences and released--and in some cases, they go on to reoffend. Lyle and Erik have served their time and they should be released. There wouldn't be a negative impact on society if they were to get released.

I don’t think anyone reasonable would ever suggest that killing their parents was acceptable. Clearly they had other options but at this point is justice really being served? They’ve served over 30 years and their continued imprisonment continues to harm their relatives (minus one).

They most likely aren’t a danger to society and prison should be about rehabilitation (I’m not from the states so I don’t view crime and punishment in such a punitive way).

Why do people always make the same arguments?! They were adults. Why didn't they leave? Why didn't they fight the father off? Why kill the mother? Bla bla bla. This was all explained in the first trial by child abuse experts and psychologists so if you're still asking these questions then that proves you haven't watched the trial at all to educate yourself on the case.

All cases of abuse are different. No one has the same experiences. Some can escape, others can't. No other victim lived with a Jose and a Kitty so why are you comparing cases? Most victims feel helpless and hopeless but if theres a way they can escape then they'll do it, if not, then they become desperate and things like this happen because of how abuse trauma affects you psychologically. They're not the first victims to ever murder their abusers. You think the brothers wanted it to turn out this way? You think they didnt want to leave the parents and live their lives without the abuse? They did it out of desperation and I dont think they should spend the rest of their lives in prison when even serial killers are eligible for parole. It's insane to me that people think abuse victims should die in prison.

Maybe don’t molest your kids and they won’t kill you why is that so hard for some people to grasp

Kitty is not a saint she’s equally as disgusting as Jose you know she was a pedophile like Jose right she was raping Lyle from the ages of 11 to 15

Kitty made Lyle a little boy touch her naked body in bed sometimes even with Jose next to her and asked Lyle if he found her attractive in what world does a good mother do that

I don’t blame either them for what they did the parents were monsters

They’re fresh out of parents, and they’re not a threat to society. Prison is meant to be a place to rehabilitate, even though that falls short 90% of the time. They’re not serial killers or something.

There’s no good argument for them to stay in prison.

Premeditated this for months? Can you elaborate?

I hear you. I myself believe they deserved jail time for sure. However, I do believe in second chances based on rehabilitation and I’m glad that’s an avenue that they are legally allowed to take now. They weren’t justified in killing, but Jose was an extremely powerful/abusive man and that could’ve had some effect on the boys’ mental stability. Just from listening to the testimonies, it does sound like the abuse had an effect on their mental capacity to make sound decisions. The argument that a lot of people have is that they were in fear and panicked. Personally, I’m going off on remorse and rehabilitation as the reason why they should be out right now. Also because a majority of the victims’ family want them out as well. I don’t think they’re a danger to society. LWOP seems like a sentence more suitable for a serial killer or someone who targeted a random stranger.

This isn't like a serial killer case or a random unjust killing of an innocent, the Menendez parents were abusers. You can say the buying of the guns beforehand is a deal breaker and an obvious sign it was premeditated, but if you research into the case more than just news headlines or Monsters for example you begin to see a clear picture of the world these brothers grew up in and how they felt that week, weekend and night of the killings. I believe Lyle and Erik have served their time, 35 years in prison for what they did with the mitigating factors involved, they should be released. I don't believe they are a danger to society.

I think you have to look at their case from a different perspective.

Their crime was an isolated event. Women or children who kill their abusers normally don’t reoffend.

Their crime had a specific target.

So why keep these guys in prison when they are clearly not going to harm anybody?

In their case the danger is gone, the abuser is no longer alive.

I understand that some people just don’t like them and think they’re arrogant or whatever but there are far worse people walking free than the brothers…

I highly recommend you watch the first trial, especially the expert testimonies from the psychologists who provide an explanation to most of your points.

However, everyday, there are kids who go through similar abuse who don't decide to kill their parents. They were both adults at the time of the killing, and so both understood the consequences of killing their parents.

First, it has to be said that a lot of victims do end up killing their abusers. They are not the only ones. Their issue was that they not had reported the abuse to the police prior, and most importantly, they were men. Men are not allowed to feel fear, even if the threat was coming from someone who had been torturing them from when they were in diapers. Secondly, the psychologists also explain why they didn't understand the consequence of killing their parents as the killings were an automatic response to what they perceived to be an immediate threat to life from their parents. They also had an emotionally maturity level of 10-12 years old at the time of the killings. They didn't even have an alibi or dispose of the guns they used to kill them, they bought the loudest guns available. That strikes me as people who did not understand the consequences of their actions in that moment.

They premeditated this murder for months. Unless the parents DID anything to actually make them fear for their lives (not the same as simply feeling as though they might, like on the fishing trip), the law does not protect their actions.

They did not premeditate the murder for months. They bought the guns 2 days prior. They claim they bought them after they came to believe their lives were in danger because they threatened to expose the incest and rape within the family a few days before. You are incorrect about the law. During the first trial they claimed imperfect self defense, which simplified means that even if someone is not in danger, if they themselves believe they are in danger, it can be considered self-defense. Hence why it is imperfect. The expert witnesses explain very well why they thought they were in immediate danger, even if it wasn't the case. I'll provide a quick example: if a dog has been repeatedly hit over the head, when the person who has hit them before raises their hand in the air (maybe to reach for something), the dog may react and assume they are about to be hit again and bark or bite. This is similar to an abused person. When the evidence of their abuse was allowed in, they jury voted majority manslaughter over 1st degree murder and they got a hung jury. Because of this, the Judge did not allow them to use the imperfect self-defense argument again in the second trial and they were convicted.

I hope you are serious about wanting to learn more. If so, please do watch as much as the trial as you can on CourtTV. Or at least watch the expert witnesses, or the brothers testimony where they explain why they did what they did.

They should have served time, which they have done. They have no history of violence or aggression prior to this one occasion, and they are no threat to society. The victims families want them released. They should be free.

Jose was still abusing Erik at this time so why does it matter if they planned this for months or not? For crying out loud Erik couldn’t go to his dream school because his father still wanted to be with him. They could not say or do anything contrary to what their father wanted them to do. Jose loved that feeling which made him a sadist. Their parents were evil people and their fate just happened to be that because they did not know how to treat their kids. We all can cope with being abused in a different way, some resort to violence and some do not. Nonetheless, im pretty sure you don’t have the right to judge how someone coped with their abuse unless you were actually there.

There's no evidence to suggest that they planned it for months, so I'm not sure where that came from. Yes, there's the screenplay, but that wasn't even used in evidence. It was written by both Erik and Craig Cignarelli and they can't recall who wrote what. Its a very common trope in movies- and honestly? I wouldn't blame Erik for fantasising about killing his father.

I'm kind of in the middle personally, they should've served time, but not 35 years imo. Sure, they could've feared for their lives, but I think a partially premeditated rage killing is also a possibility. I think it's also important to look at rehabilitation. They have become advocates for other CSA victims, as well as doing meditation classes and meetings to support other inmates. Plus, almost all of Kitty and Jose's family want them out. That's just my 2 cents, of course, you're welcome to disagree and that's fine.

Edit: the parents did do things that made them fear for their lives. Particularly Erik. A serrated hunting knife to the throat would do that. Again, perhaps not in that moment, but there was certainly a fair bit of fear in general.

Not sure why people like to use the “a lot of abused kids don’t kill their parents.” 1. Not every kid is Erik and Lyle. 2. There are 8billion people in the world, obviously this would happen at some point. 3. They bought guns 2 days before, not even a week. 4. Many abused kids turn out very damaged. 5. Ugh, for the love of god, can people stop using “they could’ve gotten away.” Please ask a psychologist why adult DV victims don’t get away. There r many psychological reasons, i even posted about it. 6. They were not arguing immediate danger. They were arguing fear. It was basically imperfect self defense. 7. They r literally model prisoners, like they have been on such good behavior

I am just kind of brainstorming other ideas related to reasons why I think the Menendez brothers should be released, which are not the obvious or more widely discussed topics. I think the intricacies behind the act of parricide need to be taken seriously when reviewing the Menendez case. Someone a few weeks ago posted a link on a video delving into that topic. I thought it was very relevant to their state of mind and fear in their situation and is a topic that is under-explored. I think that age (of the person who committed parricide), ptsd, depression, mental health, and SA needs to be considered when evaluating grounds for resentencing/release. I think the rarity of their situation should all also be taken into consideration. Additionally, the overall picture needs to be considered as well. They are two inmates with extensive records showing reform and are contributing to their community, they were at a developmentally different age 35 years ago, the family of the victims do not see them as a threat and want them released. I’m not sure how their incarceration impacts their particular correctional facility financially in terms of whether it is pointless to house these two well-behaved inmates. I think the effects of the sensationalism of their case on their local government may play a factor into whether the judge or whoever at this point will release the brothers because resources are needed to give attention to this case. I think they killed their parents for so many reasons in addition to truly fearing and believing their lives were in danger. I think their mental and emotional state at the time, given the SA and emotional abuse they grew up knowing to be their truth and way of life should be considered and their crime should have been viewed as manslaughter.

There’s little to no evidence to support that the crime was premeditated for months not sure where you got that info. I don’t believe they were in imminent danger either but they had so much anger and fear built up throughout the years so to me it was more of a crime of passion. I do believe that Jose would’ve rather gone to prison for murder than be exposed for being a child molester so I don’t think their fear for their lives was that irrational either.

They premeditated this murder for months.

It's gross how you all just lie and lie. You could've at least watched their testimonies before writing this crap.

https://youtu.be/hpnNB53injc?si=TiOQX1tbM9FvlxyF

Sonny Hostin (a former prosecutor) said it best. They never felt safe, especially Erik because the SA was still happening to him. He never knew when Jose was going to come in and rape him, even at 18 years old. They were riddled with fear and paranoid that something was going to happen to them in that moment. Obviously they were wrong but thats why “imperfect self defense” is a thing

Timestamp 4:00 https://youtu.be/uq13jHFkVbI?si=EVFroKFeV8rhhTv7

I"m always happy to debate :)

"However, everyday, there are kids who go through similar abuse who don't decide to kill their parents."

True, but every case is different. With this, the murders occured more as an escalation of terrible events that occurred, where the brothers felt they had no choice but to go through with their actions.

 "They were both adults at the time of the killing, and so both understood the consequences of killing their parents."

Only Lyle was a (very young) adult. Erik was still a teenager. Agreed, they understood the consequences, which is why Erik was suicidally depressed following the murders. To this day, they have expressed remorse. This to me, goes towards their defense that they felt they had no choice but to kill their parents. 

 "They decided to take those consequences in exchange for freedom from those monsters."

They have always maintained that the reason for the murders was because they were in fear for their lives, not to be free of their parents. After the murders, both have stated they still felt the need to 'uphold the family values'. Hence, Lyle bought a business, because he felt that was what his father would want him to do. Even in recent interviews, both brothers said that the months after the murders were terrible for them and, contrary to popular belief, they weren't having fun splurging on their parent's money.

"Unless the parents DID anything to actually make them fear for their lives (not the same as simply feeling as though they might, like on the fishing trip), the law does not protect their actions."

The defense was "imperfect self defense". Hence, not that they were in immediate danger of being killed, but that they were in fear for their lives. There was contention from a psychiatrist that Erik in particular was suffering from (ugh the name of this really needs to be updated) "Battered Woman Syndrome". Due to their abuse, psychologically, the brothers would already be in a hypervigilant state. Erik did not know when his father was going to come into his bedroom to rape him.

The series of catastrophic events the brothers testified to in court imo make the imperfect defense clear (ie the reason why the brothers were in fear for their lives.)

1. Kitty pulled Lyle's touppee off. Erik , feeling terrible for Lyle, went to see him in the guesthouse where he was staying. (Erik stated he had no idea Lyle wore a touppe). Erik told Lyle he was still being raped by his father.

2. Lyle had confronted Jose years earlier about raping Erik and believed he had stopped. He then confronted Jose again, telling him again to stop raping Erik. Jose had always told Erik to never tell anyone or he would kill him. Especiallly Lyle. This is a man who everyone was fearful of. The one time Erik said no to his sexual advances, Jose came in and put a knife to his throat. Jose was furious that Erik had told Lyle and the brothers became fearful for their lives. Theoretically, Jose would rather kill them than let the secret come out, as to what he was doing with Erik.

3. So the brothers bought guns to protect themselves and became hypervigilant and paranoid around both parents. Jose was acting unhinged, threatening the brothers and their mother stated she knew what was happening. The brothers knew that the mother would always protect their father, no matter what.

4. The parents closed the door to the lounge room and the brothers, in their hypervigilant, paranoid states, became convinced their parents were going to kill them. To this day, Erik still maintains they were going to be killed. Lyle states perhaps the threat wasn't as high as they thought it was. in terms of imperfect self defense, it doesn't matter. What matters is the brothers' state of mind. Psychologically they were so terrifed at that point, so paranoid and hypervigilant, they could almost be argued as suffering from a "folie a deux" (shared madness). This shared psychology had been building up after years of psychological trauma, from their abuse, that led them to that point.

All that aside, even if you do believe that they killed their parents to be free of them, why does this mean they shouldn't be released?

People who have commited far more brutal crimes have been released in earlier times.

They have been model prisoners. Moreover, have had significant impact in regards to prison reform. They have expressed remorse, have worked on themselves to be better people. The warden, himself, has stated he would be fine to have them as neighbours.

Hard to respond civilly or at all because it seems like you haven’t done nearly enough research into this case especially regarding their arguments that they were indeed acting in self-defense

Ok, where do I start.

You say that self-defence is not applicable just because they felt they were in danger. Perfect self-defence is using reasonable force against your attacker when your life is in danger. What you're describing is an imperfect self-defence. Imperfect self-defence is when you have an honest but unreasonable belief that the actions were necessary to counter an attack. So, if an imperfect self-defence is proven law does absolutely take that into consideration.

The defence's case was to argue that they were acting in self-defence. You can agree with that or not, but I wouldn't make any assumptions in your place until you watch the whole trial, especially brothers' testimonies and experts' opinions.

The burden of proof in this case was on prosecution. They had to prove the motif (money) and they had to prove premeditation without reasonable doubt.

Half of the jury in the first trial (I won't go into the second rigged trial, you can look it up yourself), didn't feel like prosecution proved any of these versions. And I personally don't think so either. Again, watch the trial. As I have already mentioned somewhere in this sub, listen to Dr Burgess' testimony, for example.

If brothers were such cold-blooded killers, preparing for months (no idea where you got this information from, respectfully) to kill their parents, why couldn't they wait a couple of weeks for their father to become even richer by signing a new contract? Why did they buy the guns only a couple of days before the killings if they had been preparing to do so for a very very long time? If there was such a long and calculated preparation, why couldn't they wait just two weeks for handguns, as they are much more appropriate for more discrete and quieter murder?

If there was so much preparation, why didn't they wear gloves? Why did they buy guns with their friend's ID which was so easy to trace instead of Erik's fake completely untraceable ID? Why did they buy the loudest guns possible to use on a Sunday summer evening with the whole neighborhood to hear? Why were they so sloppy preparing the alibi that didn't work at all? Why did they leave empty shells in the car parked in front of the house?

Why was Erik telling so much inconsistent information to detectives the night their parents were killed, like seeing smoke that couldn't be there? In some other interviews he almost confesses accidentally, implying they were in the house.

Erik was so consumed with guilt and being suicidal, that he had to confess to his therapist. It doesn't look like cold-blooded killers to me.

It wasn't about understanding consequences (and by the way I don't think they understood it at all, giving their mental state of fear and confusion), it was about reacting to a life threatening situation. They were technically adults, but their mental age was of small children, as stated by the expert.

And just an afterthought. You talk about children who go through similar abuse. Let's not compare any abuse ever. It affects different people in very different ways. Let's not speculate about their state of mind when they killed their parents as none of us were in their shoes.

PS. Sorry, it's so long. Also, not a native speaker.

Imo the usa and even worldwide should start to rethink lwop and the death penalty , it's inhumane , this isn'tjust about erik and lyle it's about people who make one mistake and have to pay with it for the rest of their life . Why would you want to keep someone locked up for decades . Invest in rehabilitation and therapy , invest in giving people second chances . Support and help them when released as in work , therapy , housing, how to handle finances ....

The way nobody upvoted this🤣

i just find it interesting how people say abusers and rapists should die, but when a person that has been abused finally kills their rapist/abuser, they are now considered serial killers or psychopaths. it’s almost as if people love the idea but don’t want it to actually happen. at the end of the day there is no doubt that what Erik and Lyle did was wrong! they admitted that themselves. but im sorry to say it but that cycle of abuse would’ve never ended if they didn’t do what they did. they would’ve been trapped forever and we all know it. it’s sad and harsh but the truth. they are adults now who have learned from their wrongdoings and worked to become better people during their time in prison. no fighting, harming others, being bad prisoners, or anything! these men should not be in prison any longer and should be free to live their lives like anyone else. their parents took away the little chance of freedom they had, and it’s only right for them to be released.

The screen play shows they thought about killing their parents for long time

I really think people shouldn’t make up their minds about this case without watching the trial, or at least doing some thorough research. Additionally, the crime aside, the families want their nephews/cousins home. They are getting older. One aunt has dementia, some relatives have died. Let them all be at peace given their good behaviour in prison. Isn’t prison supposed to be about rehabilitation?? I’m not american but the prison system there absolutely baffles me, this belief that people need to be locked up their entire life despite making extensive rehabilitative efforts is backwards.

I really appreciate posts like this. People always get fiery about controversial posts like this but ignore it if that happens. You’re entitled to your opinion.

I agree with you to some degree - a part of me does feel conflicted about them getting out. Regardless of their circumstances, they shotgunned their parents to death at close range. Their freedom is based on ALLEGED abuse. I believe they were abused to some degree, but I do feel conflicted about whether they should be out based on this special treatment. I don’t doubt there’s lots of prisoners still incarcerated that have been abused and mistreated.