In light of the spike in popularity of the Menendez brothers’ case both on TikTok and on other online platforms, Newsweek reports that calls have grown for Erik and Lyle to be released from prison because of those abuse allegations. In 1993, the Menendez brothers received the first of two trials for double murder, at which time, Erik and Lyle accused their father of emotional and sexual abuse in their testimonies. The defense claimed José and Kitty were killed, instead, in a mob hit, corroborated by detectives familiar with the crime scene. Erik and Lyle were soon prime suspects, though, and the two brothers were arrested and put on trial.
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During the first Menendez brothers trial, at which time both brothers pleaded not guilty, allegations of sexual and emotional abuse from their father came to light, and that recorded testimony from the first Menendez trial now gets replayed on TikTok and Instagram, mostly out of context. Shifting views on abuse may have informed current perspectives on the case, and that testimony in particular, according to Columbia College Chicago media studies professor, Sharon Ross. In an email to The New York Times, Ross wrote: “We are right now much more attuned as a society to the realities of the impact of domestic violence, sexual abuse and harassment, and racist violence and harassment … This allows us to look at ‘reactions’ to such elements with 20/20 hindsight.”
