Almost two weeks after Kim Kardashian‘s advocacy work around prison reform led her to a meeting with imprisoned Erik and Lyle Menendez, the reality TV star and business mogul is speaking in hopes that the brother’s life sentences could be “reconsidered.”
“I have spent time with Lyle and Erik; they are not monsters. They are kind, intelligent, and honest men. In prison, they both have exemplary disciplinary records. They have earned multiple college degrees, worked as caregivers for elderly incarcerated individuals in hospice, and been mentors in college programs — committed to giving back to others,” Kardashian writes in an unique essay posted by NBC Information. “When I visited the prison three weeks ago, one of the wardens told me he would feel comfortable having them as neighbors. Twenty-four family members, including their parents’ siblings, have released statements fully supporting Lyle and Erik and have respectfully requested that the justice system free them.”
The publication of Kardashian’s column comes scorching on the heels of a report that prosecutors in Los Angeles are reviewing new proof within the case after attorneys for the Menendez brothers requested a courtroom to vacate their conviction. Erik, now 53, and Lyle, 56, have been convicted of killing their mother and father, Jose and Kitty Menendez, at their Beverly Hills mansion in 1989, and later sentenced to life.
It additionally comes because the case has discovered its method again to the forefront of popular culture dialog because of Ryan Murphy and Netflix, which is now streaming the tremendous producer’s Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story. Kardashian’s phrase selection appears intentional giving the title, although it needs to be famous that she’s near the inventive group after having starred in Murphy’s latest American Horror Story: Delicate. Kardashian additionally invited Monsters star Cooper Koch, who performs Erik, to accompany her to Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego County.
“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,” writes Kardashian, who then goes on to element what occurred within the ensuing prison trial.
She additionally makes word that the district lawyer’s workplace accountable for the Menendez case additionally dealt with the O.J. Simpson case when he was charged with the murders of ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman. Kardashian’s lawyer father, Robert Kardashian, served on O.J. Simpson’s profitable protection group. Kardashian then goes on to jot down that the Menendez case “became entertainment for the nation” with their tales of abuse inspiring skits on Saturday Night time Stay.
“The media turned the brothers into monsters and sensationalized eye candy — two arrogant, rich kids from Beverly Hills who killed their parents out of greed. There was no room for empathy, let alone sympathy,” she writes. “There were virtually no systems in place to support survivors, and public awareness of the trauma of male sexual abuse was minimal, often clouded by preconceived judgments and homophobia. Can anyone honestly deny that the justice system would have treated the Menendez sisters more leniently?”
In closing, Kardashian reveals that her hope is that their life sentences could be “reconsidered” for the sake of these little boys who “lost their childhoods, who never had a chance to be heard, helped or saved.”
“The killings are not excusable. I want to make that clear. Nor is their behavior before, during or after the crime,” she concludes. “But we should not deny who they are today in their 50s. The trial and punishment these brothers received were more befitting a serial killer than two individuals who endured years of sexual abuse by the very people they loved and trusted. I don’t believe that spending their entire natural lives incarcerated was the right punishment for this complex case. Had this crime been committed and trialed today, I believe the outcome would have been dramatically different.”
