Okay, like, whoa, the Menendez brothers case is totally back in the headlines. We’re talking about Erik and Lyle Menendez, who, if you didn’t know, got locked up in the ’90s for, like, life without parole for killing their parents, José and Kitty Menendez, in their Beverly Hills mansion. So, after decades of them sitting in prison, we’re now seeing this big twist — a possible resentencing, all thanks to some new revelations and, you guessed it, Netflix.
So here’s the tea: L.A. District Attorney George Gascón is saying that it’s time to look at this case again, especially given all the new stuff we’ve learned about trauma and abuse. According to Gascón, it’s about “ensuring that everyone is treated fairly and equally under the law.” He’s, like, super serious about it. This all comes after Roy Rosselló, a former Menudo band member, dropped a bombshell, saying José Menendez abused him, too. Rosselló’s claims totally hit hard and were part of Netflix’s 2023 series Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed. And now, it feels like people are finally listening to what Erik and Lyle have been saying about their dad for years.
The docuseries, which, like, everyone and their mom has seen, really seemed to wake people up. It brought the brothers’ side of the story front and center — they’ve always claimed that years of abuse led them to act out of pure fear. Criminal defense lawyer Mark Geragos, who has been backing the brothers, was super clear about it, saying, “What we have here is an extraordinary combination of abuse and trauma that was largely dismissed by the courts back then.” I mean, if he’s saying it, maybe there’s something to it?
Then we have Dr. James Garbarino, a trauma psychologist who actually evaluated Erik. He explained that “the notion of trauma and how it affects perceptions of danger and self-defense is better understood now than it was in the early ’90s.” So, basically, back in the day, they weren’t really looking at how years of trauma could seriously mess up someone’s judgment, making them think they had to act in, like, self-defense.
And for Erik and Lyle, the buzz has them feeling, as Geragos put it, “cautiously optimistic.” In fact, Erik even wrote in a letter that “we have always told the truth. Now, more than ever, we hope people understand what we went through.” You can just feel the hope there!
So, yeah, this whole thing is major. If the Los Angeles Superior Court says yes to resentencing, it’s not just about Erik and Lyle — it’s like a huge statement on how we think about abuse, trauma, and fairness in the legal system today.
XOXO,
Valley Girl News
p.s. Photo from Lake Front Media
