Menendez brothers resentenced, parole now possible
"I do believe they've done enough over the last 35 years that one day they should get that chance" to be freed, Judge Michael Jesic said. Jesic reduced the men's original sentences of life without the possibility of parole to a term of 50 years to life. The time they have already spent behind bars means they are already eligible to apply for parole, with a hearing scheduled for next month. The pair have spent two years trying to get their sentences reduced, with a public campaign bolstered by celebrity support from the likes of Kim Kardashian and supercharged by the hit Netflix miniseries "Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story."
Blockbuster trials in the 1990s heard how the men killed Jose and Kitty Menendez in their Beverly Hills mansion, in what prosecutors said was a cynical attempt to get their hands on a large family fortune. After setting up alibis and trying to cover their tracks, the men shot Jose Menendez five times with shotguns, including in the kneecaps. Kitty Menendez died from a shotgun blast as she tried desperately to crawl away from her killers.
The brothers initially blamed the deaths on a mafia hit, but changed their story several times in the ensuing months. Erik, then 18, confessed to the murders in a session with his therapist. The pair ultimately claimed they had acted in self-defense after years of emotional and sexual abuse at the hands of a tyrannical father. During their decades in prison, changing social mores and greater awareness of sexual abuse helped elevate the men to something approaching cultural icons, a status that was nourished by a parade of docudramas and TV miniseries. Legal hearings have been so popular that court managers used a lottery system for the public gallery.
'Full responsibility'
On Tuesday, Lyle Menendez, now aged 57, addressed the court via videolink, admitting he had murdered his parents. "I take full responsibility for all my choices ... the choice to point a gun at my mom and dad... the choice to reload... the choice to run and to hide and to do anything I could to get away," he said, according to reporters who were in court. His brother, Erik, 54, told the court he had been wrong to take the law into his own hands and said his actions were cruel and cowardly. "I have no excuse, no justification. I take full responsibility," he said. "I reached out to my brother for help and convinced him that we couldn't escape. "I fired five rounds at my parents and went to get more ammunition. I lied to police, lied to my family. I am truly sorry."
The men's family had earlier pleaded with the judge to show mercy, showcasing the work they have done in prison, including working with terminally ill inmates. Their cousin Anamaria Baralt told the hearing they were reformed and had earned their freedom. "We believe that 35 years is enough," she said. "They are universally forgiven by our family. They deserve a second chance at life."
Diane Hernandez, niece of Kitty Menendez, said the brothers were "remarkable human beings." "There is absolutely no chance that they would break the law" if released, she said. "Their only desire is to do good." Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman had opposed the resentencing, insisting that without a full accounting of the lies they had told — he said they gave five explanations for the murders — they should not be allowed out of prison. Under California law, if a parole board recommends the grant of parole for someone convicted of murder, Governor Gavin Newsom has the right to affirm, reverse or modify their decision. — AFP
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Arab Times
3 days ago
- Arab Times
Menendez brothers to be evaluated by parole board for release after 30 years in prison
LOS ANGELES, Aug 19, (AP): The Menendez brothers are set to make their cases for parole starting Thursday, marking the closest they've been to winning freedom from prison since their convictions almost 30 years ago for murdering their parents. Erik and Lyle Menendez were sentenced in 1996 to life in prison for fatally shooting their father, Jose Menendez, and mother, Kitty Menendez, in their Beverly Hills mansion in 1989. They were 18 and 21 at the time. While defense attorneys argued the brothers acted out of self-defense after years of sexual abuse by their father, prosecutors said the brothers killed their parents for a multimillion-dollar inheritance. The brothers became eligible for parole after a Los Angeles judge in May reduced their sentences from life in prison without the possibility of parole to 50 years to life, making them immediately eligible for parole under California law because they were under the age of 26 when they committed their crimes. A panel of two or three parole hearing officers from a board of commissioners appointed by the governor will evaluate the brothers individually. Erik Menendez will have his hearing Thursday morning, followed by Lyle Menendez on Friday, over videoconference from the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego. The board will assess whether the brothers pose an "unreasonable risk of danger to society' if released, considering factors like criminal history, motivation for the crime, and signs of remorse, behavior while in prison, and plans for the future, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Even if the board grants their parole, it could still be months before the brothers walk free - if at all. If the board grants each brother's parole, the chief legal counsel has 120 days to review the case. Then, Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom has 30 days to affirm or deny the parole. Only then, if Newsom affirms the parole, would the Menendez brothers be able to leave prison. Newsom had previously ordered the state parole board to conduct a risk assessment of the brothers in response to a clemency request. At the time, he emphasized that the key question was whether the brothers posed an "unreasonable risk to public safety.' He noted at a May news conference that he has both approved and rejected decisions by the parole board before and that he was the "ultimate arbiter.' The brothers' lawyer, Mark Geragos, sought release last month for Erik Menendez after he was hospitalized for a "serious medical condition.' He has since returned to prison. The case has captured the attention of true crime enthusiasts for decades and spawned documentaries, television specials, and dramatizations. The Netflix drama " Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story " and the documentary "The Menendez Brothers," both released in 2024, have been credited for bringing new attention to the brothers. In the last year, weigh-in from celebrities such as Kim Kardashian and a greater recognition of the brothers as victims of sexual abuse has helped amass a legion of supporters who have called for their release. Some have flown to Los Angeles over the past few months, holding rallies and attending court hearings as the brothers' attorneys pushed for their resentencing. The previous LA County district attorney, George Gascón, first opened the door to possible freedom for the brothers last fall by asking a judge to reduce their sentences. Since their conviction, the brothers have gotten an education, participated in self-help classes, and started various support groups for fellow people in prison, his office said in a petition. The judge's decision to ultimately resentence the brothers followed months of pushback from current prosecutors, who argued the brothers hadn't taken adequate responsibility for their crimes. The Menendez brothers still have a pending habeas corpus petition filed in May 2023 seeking a review of their convictions based on new evidence supporting their claims of sexual abuse by their father. Last month, a different judge ordered Los Angeles prosecutors to explain why their case shouldn't be reexamined. The state corrections department has selected one media representative to view the proceedings virtually and share notes with the rest of the press at set intervals.
Kuwait Times
28-06-2025
- Kuwait Times
Netflix TV drama ‘Secrets We Keep' exposes the dangers of domestic migrant work
Secrets We Keep (Reservatet), a Danish suspense series on Netflix created by Ingeborg Topsøe, delves into the disappearance of a Filipina au pair from an elite suburb of Copenhagen — and delivers a sharp social commentary on racial and class entitlements. Moving fluidly between English, Danish and Tagalog, the six-part drama is a nuanced indictment of the lack of moral accountability among the rich. On display are the prejudices and complicity of white women in enabling a culture of toxic masculinity that treats Filipina migrant women as sexualized and disposable commodities. The story starts with a tearful Ruby Tan — a Filipina au pair who works for the affluent Rasmus (Lars Ranthe) and Katarina (Danica Curcic) — asking for some help with her employers from her neighbour, Cecilie (played by Marie Bach Hansen). Cecilie is a successful non-profit manager and mother of two married to a high-profile lawyer. She employs Angel (Excel Busano), a Filipina au pair. Cecilie tells Ruby she cannot get involved. The next day, Ruby vanishes without a trace. The series is propelled by Cecilie's guilt in refusing to help Ruby. She is shocked at her neighbours' apparent lack of concern for Ruby's disappearance. Cecilie begins to sleuth for clues regarding Ruby's disappearance and she eventually decides to assist Aicha, a racialized policewoman assigned to find the missing au pair. Cecilie discovers a pregnancy kit by a trash bin where she had last seen Ruby. And she soon suspects Ruby's employer, Rasmus, of raping her. While the series lacks true suspense due to its predictable story arc peppered with clues about Ruby's disappearance, it is amply compensated by a sharp critique on the moral decay of modern society, systemic racism and the complicity of women in upholding white masculine privilege. Warped racist view of the world Secrets We Keep lays bare the warped world view of rich, white privilege, racism and the sexual fetishism of Asian women. At a dinner party one night, Rasmus and Katarina do not seem concerned about their missing au pair. Katarina labels Filipina au pairs as whores working in brothels. When discussing Ruby, Katarina says, 'she probably ran off to do porn.' In one uncomfortable scene, Rasmus taunts Cecilia's husband, Mike (Simon Sears), about his sexual preferences. Mike responds by saying: 'I don't have 'yellow fever.'' Cecilia sits silently beside Mike. Katarina also calls Aicha (Sara Fanta Traore), the policewoman, 'the little brown one.' At a formal dinner, Rasmus tells Cecilia: 'We stick together. We are from the same world, and we are loyal to each other.' High rates of violence against women The reduction of Ruby into a sexual object in the show reflects the high rates of sexual violence against Filipina au pairs in Scandinavia. It led the Philippines to ban the participation of Scandinavian countries in its 'informal labour' arrangement in 1998. Though the ban was lifted in 2010, Au Pair Network, an advocacy group, reveals that the program is still riddled with abuse. The Nordic Paradox is a term used to describe how Scandinavian countries, including Denmark, rank the highest in the Gender Equality Index yet suffer from very high rates of violence against women and intimate partner violence in Europe. At a recent gender studies conference in Stockholm, Ardis Ingvars, a sociologist at the University of Iceland who worked as an au pair for a year in the United States just after she turned 18, recalls her anxiety and apprehension as she moved to Boston. She said: 'Au pairs hope to be lucky with the family turning out OK. What is difficult to take is the attitude of 'ownership' that the children and families display over the au pairs as an unquestioned entitlement.' Ingvars said asymmetrical power relations embedded within the au pair system reinforce racial and class hierarchies. This is reflected in Secrets We Keep. Midway during Aicha's investigation, as she hits roadblock after roadblock, she cries out in frustration: 'She's a fucking nobody in their world.' Feminized labour exploitation Economic globalization, neoliberal policies and an increased dependence on the remittance economy fuses with the care gap in the Global North to fuel the feminized care migration from the Global South, many of them Filipino women. Au pairs are placed with host families who provide free board and meals in return for up to 30 hours a week of housework and child care as they learn the host language and customs. The au pairs are paid 'pocket money' of Danish Kroner 5,000 per month (approx $1,000 Canadian) out of which they also pay local taxes. One scene shows one of Cecilie's work meetings. A junior staff member expresses surprise that Cecilie has an au pair, labelling it a relic of colonial era racial hierarchies. Cecilie defends herself, and says the system survives because of the failure of men to keep up their domestic bargain and thus the need for women like her 'to outsource care.' She argues the Filipina au pairs 'are dependable' and she is 'a much better mother' because of Angel. But Cecilie doesn't acknowledge her privilege — that to be with her children and have a career is predicated on the exploitative extraction of care from Global South women. The female au pairs in Denmark must be between 18-29 years of age, childless, never married and at the end of two years, return home. Almost 50 to 75 per cent of au pairs in Denmark are Filipino women Cecilie's shock at finding out that Angel has a son whom she left behind in the Philippines is part of her denial. In the end, Cecilie is unable to confront her own complicity and decides to release Angel from their au pair arrangement. 'You know nothing about my world…You are very lucky,' cries Angel in anguish as Cecilie hands her the return ticket and an extra three months' pay to demonstrate her magnanimity. Secrets We Keep reveals the brutal reality for Global South au pairs as well as upper-class white women and their entitlements. It indicates that even though these white wealthy women may see mistreatment, they maintain their silence and participate in wilful gendered violence to hold onto that privilege, while maintaining a façade of compassion towards the disposable racial migrant other. - Reuters
Kuwait Times
14-05-2025
- Kuwait Times
Menendez brothers resentenced, parole now possible
LOS ANGELES: Lyle and Erik Menendez, who have spent more than three decades behind bars for the grisly shotgun murders of their parents in the family's luxury Beverly Hills home, could soon walk free after a judge on Tuesday reduced their life sentences. The ruling came after an emotional court hearing in Los Angeles during which the men took full responsibility for the 1989 double killing. "I do believe they've done enough over the last 35 years that one day they should get that chance" to be freed, Judge Michael Jesic said. Jesic reduced the men's original sentences of life without the possibility of parole to a term of 50 years to life. The time they have already spent behind bars means they are already eligible to apply for parole, with a hearing scheduled for next month. The pair have spent two years trying to get their sentences reduced, with a public campaign bolstered by celebrity support from the likes of Kim Kardashian and supercharged by the hit Netflix miniseries "Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story." Blockbuster trials in the 1990s heard how the men killed Jose and Kitty Menendez in their Beverly Hills mansion, in what prosecutors said was a cynical attempt to get their hands on a large family fortune. After setting up alibis and trying to cover their tracks, the men shot Jose Menendez five times with shotguns, including in the kneecaps. Kitty Menendez died from a shotgun blast as she tried desperately to crawl away from her killers. The brothers initially blamed the deaths on a mafia hit, but changed their story several times in the ensuing months. Erik, then 18, confessed to the murders in a session with his therapist. The pair ultimately claimed they had acted in self-defense after years of emotional and sexual abuse at the hands of a tyrannical father. During their decades in prison, changing social mores and greater awareness of sexual abuse helped elevate the men to something approaching cultural icons, a status that was nourished by a parade of docudramas and TV miniseries. Legal hearings have been so popular that court managers used a lottery system for the public gallery. 'Full responsibility' On Tuesday, Lyle Menendez, now aged 57, addressed the court via videolink, admitting he had murdered his parents. "I take full responsibility for all my choices ... the choice to point a gun at my mom and dad... the choice to reload... the choice to run and to hide and to do anything I could to get away," he said, according to reporters who were in court. His brother, Erik, 54, told the court he had been wrong to take the law into his own hands and said his actions were cruel and cowardly. "I have no excuse, no justification. I take full responsibility," he said. "I reached out to my brother for help and convinced him that we couldn't escape. "I fired five rounds at my parents and went to get more ammunition. I lied to police, lied to my family. I am truly sorry." The men's family had earlier pleaded with the judge to show mercy, showcasing the work they have done in prison, including working with terminally ill inmates. Their cousin Anamaria Baralt told the hearing they were reformed and had earned their freedom. "We believe that 35 years is enough," she said. "They are universally forgiven by our family. They deserve a second chance at life." Diane Hernandez, niece of Kitty Menendez, said the brothers were "remarkable human beings." "There is absolutely no chance that they would break the law" if released, she said. "Their only desire is to do good." Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman had opposed the resentencing, insisting that without a full accounting of the lies they had told — he said they gave five explanations for the murders — they should not be allowed out of prison. Under California law, if a parole board recommends the grant of parole for someone convicted of murder, Governor Gavin Newsom has the right to affirm, reverse or modify their decision. — AFP
