Amid renewed interest in the 1989 killings of their parents, José and Kitty Menendez, which is revisited in Ryan Murphy’s Monsters: The Erik and Lyle Menendez Story, reality star Kim Kardashian has expressed why she believes the brothers’ life sentences should be reconsidered.
“I have spent time with Lyle and Erik; they are not monsters,” she asserted in an NBC News op-ed published on October 3. “They are kind, intelligent, and honest men.”
The SKIMS founder, who visited the brothers at their San Diego prison on September 21 alongside Monsters star Cooper Koch, pointed out their exemplary records during their incarceration. She also noted that at least two dozen family members have supported their release.
“When I visited the prison three weeks ago,” Kim wrote, “one of the wardens told me he would feel comfortable having them as neighbours.”
While advocating for a review of their case, in which they were found guilty of first-degree murder following two jury trials, Kim clarified that she did not excuse their actions.
“The killings are not excusable. I want to make that clear,” the 43-year-old stressed. “Nor is their behaviour before, during, or after the crime. But we should not deny who they are today in their 50s.”
Kim explained that Erik and Lyle Menendez have long alleged years of sexual, physical, and emotional abuse by their parents, which she believes led them to believe that killing was their only way out.
“I don’t believe that spending their entire natural lives incarcerated was the right punishment for this complex case,” she added. “Had this crime been committed and tried today, I believe the outcome would have been dramatically different.”
Her comments coincided with an announcement by Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón that his office is reviewing the case to determine if the brothers should be resentenced. They are also investigating new potential evidence supporting the brothers’ claims of abuse.
While Kim has advocated for a second chance for the brothers, Monsters creator Ryan Murphy has been more critical after Erik Menendez criticised the series. Murphy, speaking to The Hollywood Reporter on October 1, noted that “the Menendez brothers and their people” are neglecting the broader context of the story being told, adding, “they’re playing the victim card right now—’poor, pitiful us’—which I find reprehensible and disgusting.”
However, actor Cooper Koch, who portrayed Erik Menendez in the Netflix drama, had a different perspective. After meeting the brothers, he referred to them as “upstanding individuals,” noting, “They committed the crime when they were 18 and 21, and back then, it was hard for people to accept that male-on-male sexual abuse, especially between father and son, could happen.”
Koch believes that with increased awareness and evidence of child and male-on-male sexual abuse in the years since the trial, the brothers deserve a retrial.
