After 35 years those boys have served their debt. Never mind a new trial, just release them. They suffered as kids and the bias and hate that tainted the trial was enough to convince me that they deserve freedom and a chance at happiness.
@@Highland_Moo Why they killed the mother? It doesn’t matter to me if they were abused or not. If I was abused I would move out. They had no right to kill the parents, and lie about it for months, living good life, and spending money that was not theirs.
@@InHitchWeTrust Some kids learned to survive by moving quickly and taking on odd jobs, but their upbringing often left them ill-equipped for the outside world. It's hard to comprehend how they could resort to killing, but it's difficult to judge without being in their shoes. Human brains are not fully developed until at least in the mid-to-late 20s so I don't think they fully knew what options do they have. To move out, you need a job, it is much easier to say than doing it, it requires great courage to confront the unknown.
The second time the jury should have been allowed to hear the full story! Set them free! They've served more than enough time! Their parents were monsters! Sick
The brain is wired differently when you’ve undergone years of abuse as a child. My mother and I planned my father’s murder when I was fourteen. Now, we never went through with it and I am glad we did not, but I can tell you for nothing, at that time we believed if we hadn’t taken the opportunity to finish him, he’d finish us in a matter of time. It’s hard to explain except to say that when you feel your life is in danger on a daily basis for years and years, any opportunity to get to take out the oppressor IS self defence.
FREE..they murdered their parents in cold blood...if you can kill your parents..you are capable of killing anyone..spoiled rich grown ass men who could not wait for their parents to die naturally so they helped it along
@@jstephenjThe judge who was more concerned with career advancement (getting re-elected) that he conspired with the prosecutors to block and limit defense evidence and testimony to get a conviction. For someone who claims to know so much about this case, you get many things wrong.
Absolutely! I’m so glad that people like you exist who are not afraid to tell the truth. Their parents deserve everything they got. Erik & Lyle are heroes.
@@Marnie311, I would never call them heroes, not in any universe. However, if the facts are anything close to what was portrayed in the first trial of each brother, as opposed to the third, joint trial in which any claims of abuse by the father (or mother) were not allowed and never considered by the jury, then they have served their time for the manslaughter conviction they would have received and should be released from prison. Given what’s come to light I lean strongly toward the latter.
This channel is vastly underrated. I'm gathering so much information from all these videos enough to start a podcast and very keen to give commentary on this. They deserve another trial even after all of these years
No, they already had 3 trials and numerous attempts at overturning their convictions already. The brothers are right where they belong. Donovan Correction Facility, their rightful residency.
@@jstephenj nice way of victim blaming, you are ignorant in these situations where victims in abusive households are convinced by their abusers that there is no escape and no help outside and all they know is abuse and shame until they realize their only way out is violence. Their case is no different than any abuse victim such as a battered wife, a rape victim and that of molested children, which they are the latter. Older siblings are protective of their younger siblings, Lyle could handle what his monster father did to him and his complicit mother but Lyle was not going to enable and live with the abuse being done to his brother Erik.
@@Muirmaiden 3 trials. 2 separate during the first trial and then tried together for the third. So what I said was true. But then, you only recognize one of the trials, Muirmaiden, as you like to pretend that the second trial never happened at all. Spoiler alert. Erik and Lyle Menendez were convicted on two counts of first degree murder and sentenced to life without parole. I know, a shocker, but one for the history books nonetheless.
I think this crime was unfortunately a few decades too early for the allegations of horrific abuse against them to be fairly heard. I’ve read a lot about the case and feel now it would be treated very differently and they wouldn’t be in jail now. I certainly believe them
The only abuse was physical, meaning that the dad hit them when they did something wrong, which at that time going back decades always was the case and even today, yet other family members do not kill their parents and blame it on abuse by the dad? No excuse, it was all about money full stop, within days a week at least they spent on expensive items now if thats not a dead give away i do not know what is, rot in jail full stop, murder your own dad and mum shooting them with shotguns, now if there was forensic evidence that the dad was bashing the two sons and they had to fight back and stabbed the dad and accidentally stabbed the mum them in self defence, then they would be free now? 😥😥🙏🙏🦘🦘✌✌👍👍
I dont, the cries of a man who knows he murdered his dad and mum, thats why both of them cried full stop. What you need to see is the homicide video tapes & why the homicide ick did not have gun powder residue tests done on them, still even back then the brothers being so stupid would have not thought of removal of any trace evidence on thier bodys hands face and burn the clothes, shoes socks everything, but also make sure they have fresh blood stains on the shoes they had on when they run out, plus blood stains on the pants on a side which would be consistent of walking through to check on both parents. Its not rocket science, its forensic science which catches the lies you tell at the homicide interviews? Also how many times are people sent to jail just over circumstantial evidence and no smoking gun or forensic evidence from a crime scene? 🙏🙏🦘🦘👌👌👍👍
@@7071t6, you are incorrect. The claims by both sons and confirmed by several relatives was of SEXUAL ABUSE, not only PHYSICAL abuse, which by the way can be as bad or worse than SEXUAL ABUSE.
I guess its because she didnt actually kill her mom. She participated in planning and making it possible. Plus they had a lot of evidence against her mom from doctors and people from their neighbourhood and film recordings where her mom did what gypsy said. People will probably never admit it tho, but the fact that gypsy is a girl who got abused probably causes mor empathy than rich boys. Sadly..
What about all the adults who knew and never said anything or looked into it? How are there no consequences for them? Heartbreaking. All the adults in their lives failed them
I come from a loving family, never in my worst nightmares have I ever thought about harming anyone, but specially not my parents. These parents killed the soul of those two boys and none was there to defend them from their abuse. Where was the justice system during they were growing up in such a horrible environment? If they killed their parents,the way they did I it there must be a reason. Please let them out and start caring about providing justice to the real victims of a crime. Start protecting the children at any cost and against anyone harming them!
I believed the two brothers were Sexually abused by their dad. You can see the pains as they spoke about their sexual abuse. There also Erik told his cousin when he was 15 about his dad sexually abused him. Hope one day they can go FREE . THEY ARE VICTIMS!!
If these two grown men had it so bad why did they not just move out....get jobs ...support themselves.....their so called sexual abuse was never brought up until they needed an excuse for killing their parents
@@christineyetman640there was evidence presented of father being very controlling , strict & condescending, but it doesnt excuse double murder! All they had to do was leave their home & support themselves! I dont believe the sexual abuse because lyle asked his then girlfriend amy to testify to a fake story of that & she refused.
@@christineyetman640 if u hear the details they shot 15 shells into their parents that's pure hatred if they really just wanted to kill them one shot would do it but they had pure hatred toward them
If the family was aware of the abuse that would corroborate their story so y didn't anyone believe them? Just wild to me that they just totally dismissed all the testimonies? Set them boys free they have endured enough as it is!
ABUSE OF ANY KIND IS WRONG AND IT DOESN'T MATTER MATTER WHERE YOU LIVE OR WHO YOU ARE WHAT RACE YOU ARE OR COUNTRY YOU LIVE IN ETC , IT HAPPENS EVERYWHERE IN THE WORLD 🌎 I KNOW BECAUSE IT DID IN FACT IT EVEN HAPPENED TO ME TOO NOT LIKE THESE MENENDEZ BROTHERS , BUT ABUSE WILL NEVER BE RIGHT PERIOD INCLUDING SEXUAL ASSAULT AND RAPE WHICH IS TECHNICALLY THE SAME THING 😢 SERIOUSLY , I TRULY HONESTLY BELIEVE AND SUPPORT. THESE GUYS , THEY NEED TO BE RELEASED AS THEY HAVE DONE THEIR DUE TIME AND THEIR PARENTS WERE MONSTERS 👻 IN DISGUISE AND GOT 💯 % EVERYTHING THEY DESERVE AND WE'RE PROTECTING THEMSELVES 🎉🎉😢😢❤❤ SOMETIMES YOU HAVE TO TAKE THE LAW INTO YOUR OWN HANDS ✋️ BECAUSE THE LAW WON'T HELP YOU ANYMORE AND THAT'S THE GOD'S HONEST TRUTH TOO , LYLE AND ERIK I PRAY YOU BOTH GET FREED ASAP AND HAVE A LIFE OF LOVE ❤❤AND PEACE ✌️ 🎉🎉 GOD BLESS YOU 🙌 GUYS
So many people say "why didnt they just call the police?" Or " they could of joined the military, or gone to college!" No they couldnt. That would never be good enough for Jose. I believe they did what they had to do to servive. I truely wish tey could of just left. But that was not possible. Jose would of found them, and brought them back. I think they did what they thought was their only choice. We all wish they had a better out, but in their lives i get it.
Lyle was going to Princeton all the way across the country. He was suspended and he could have stayed in NJ, but he chose to go back, why would he if they were abused
@@kellyjacquin715 he didn't flunk out, he was caught plagiarizing. Yeah he helped his brother 🔫 down their parents. A shot 🔫 to the back of the head is not self defense. Reloading & 🔫 their mom in her face as she was begging for her life is not self defense. They massacred them both & tried to get away with it, for the $$$$
The government got millions inheritance tax while the prosecuters claimed the brother were greedy but in fact the 2 brothers have no one cent today !! Just to think about ...
No. The irs was paid estate taxes from the sale of the properties and legal, real estate fees, under appraised, deflated property values, and grossly overestimates in the values of Jose’s stocks. The outstanding mortgage balances were paid. The estate had originally been valued at 14mil. In the end, the value was reduced dramatically. No 1039 exchange when it’s not reinvested in a new property. No inheritance taxes as it was a deceased inheritance considered a one time gift.
Smug lawyers even shrieked when they won the case… ugh! So cringe. Saying it wasnt about winning its about justice.. what in the actual h?? I just hope and pray none of your kids go through what these kids got through..
THINK ABOUT IT OK ????????? HAVE YOU EVER BEEN SEXUALLY ASSAULTED OR RAPED BY YOUR OWN PARENTS DUMMY 🤔 😕 🙄 THAT'S WHY THEY HATED THEIR PARENTS OK , ARE YOU AWAKE NOW , ARE YOU PAYING ATTENTION NOW KNUCKLE HEAD OR ARE YOU JUST PLAIN STUPID AND FULL OF MARBLES IN YOUR BRAIN 🧠 😮??? WAKE UPTO REALITY
To think that Lyle and Erik we're the only victims of their father is crazy when he was a executive producer he did it to another little boy and old people decide to not bring that to the trial to make them look worse it was more evidence to show their father did that to them and they could've gotten a lower sentence
They did not think they had access to the money because their parents told them and others they were disinherited them. Furthermore, the subsequent spending shopping spree clearly was not accessible to them in that manner. Kids are killing their parents today for inheritance, not wanting to follow rules, etc. why is it hard to believe the same for the brothers? Stop it.
They should be freedom. What has come to light is sickening. People new things. Nobody did nothing. There just as guilty. Did the judge use them as example. They have served enough time. There parents were monsters. My opinion.
After they looked in pain like that during testimony they still got life without parole what the hell was wrong with people back then? Explains why at the same time there was racism & all kinds of evil. This is a whole new generation and we say Erik and Lyle should be freed!
Comments for Lyle and Eric as not being villains, but victims, is ludacris. José was shot 6 times, including the fatal shot in the back of the head with a Mossberg 12-gauge shotgun. Kitty was shot 10 times in total. Both were OBLITERATED. I was abused terribly (I wrote an autobiography about it!!), but even at 5 years old, I knew murder, especially pre-meditated, deliberate, brutal/violent cold-blooded, bloody revenge was wrong. There was no will (changed or not) or inheritance more important than my "freedom." Flee from the abuse. I also knew robbing people's cars and homes was wrong, but the brothers did that too. I got a job and moved out at 17 instead. They could've, and should've made different/better choices. They should never get out of prison.
You dont share the same experiences as these brothers. No child of abuse does. Also youre a female. Our thought process work different than males. They are victims!! And honestly the dad deserved to die. Youre Ludacris for dismissing the psychological damages sex abuse on children brains can do. Even if you were able to overcome them. Others cope in different ways.
I wonder how you’d behave if your wealthy parents who think they can do literally anything they want to you, were sexually molesting you since the age of six. Do not judge a person unless you’ve walked in their shoes.
Good thing you don’t work in the mental health field. You talk like everyone can just think like you. I’m not saying these dudes are innocent, but there are cases where the victim seen no other choice but murder.
If every abused kid in the world murdered the abuser,the jails would be bursting ... Killing was not the answer.And this were ADULTS.They could just get a job and move out of the palace they lived in.
You don't know what severe trauma from longtime abuse snd fear does to people. A traumatized person is triggered much more and there were many many things the parents said and did that every normal person would feel threatened to death. Were you raped / molested by your parents longterm and were you neglected by a coldhearted psychopathic mother? I guess not. So keep silent about things you don't understand.
@@heavenclear4327we are all here to speculate so shut the fuck up. And don’t assume whomever you’re talking to doesnt have a background of sexual abuse. The country is full of people who were abused as children and didn’t kill their parents.
While they are indeed adults in the eyes of the law, that doesn’t make them adults in their ability to reason, think, discern or consider their situation or their options or the consequences of their choices. It doesn’t make them emotionally mature. And if sexually abused - or physically or emotionally abused - their maturity would be that much more stunted - by years. And if the only reality they knew was the one constructed by their parents then their perception of their range of options would be very limited. This doesn’t mean that killing was the answer, but it does provide a significant (actually, enormous) mitigating factor. What’s being argued now is that with the most recent evidence apparently substantiating that sexual abuse really did occur then brothers would have been found guilty of manslaughter, not first degree murder, and would have been sentenced to a maximum of 25 years each and would have been released by now.
Yes…if everyone “got why they deserved” this would be the case and it would be the wild Wild West…it’s curious how people wield their outrage depending on the person or persons accused
This video does a really terrible job talking about the actual details of the case. I have so many unanswered questions. What led up to the murders? What happened the day of the murders? Was there a specific event that triggered them or was it just built up over the years? If $ was the motive, what level of access did they already have to their father's wealth? Was there maybe fear that he would cut them out of his will if they turned him in to authorities? So disappointed.
Well we all know they couldn't say all of those things about there father if he were alive.... Because it's true, he would of killed them or had them go missing for disgracing him... So how could they tell anyone back then? I can fully see how they felt it was there only way out of sexual abuse and control.
Awful case. How cold blooded do you have to be to put on shot gun up to your mother’s face and pull the trigger, again and again so that you can get your hands on money? They hated the father because they were a couple of losers who would never be successful like him. The love of money is the root of all evil.
When one is literally about to spend life in prison, ones acting skills reach Oscar level performances..... OJ Simpson and the Menendez brothers are all about Hollywood and by any means necessary!
It was an interesting story. However, the documentary is really bad written and directed. We have no background, it feels like there are missing pieces. There was no real beginning and no real end. It was too fast. I was looking forward to get to know better this horrific real life events but the whole episode left me unconvinced. Now about what i think of this affair : yes they brutally murdered their parents (firt degree murder) and they could left the house, they could prevent all that. They planned all this days ago. But the physical and psychological abuse from their parents probably obstructed their reason. Trauma can lead you to act spontaneously. Hear me out, i am not saying their actions were justified, it was NOT, but after years of abuse and mistreatment, your mind can be broke into million pieces. And all this affected them. Their pain was real during the triral. Havin to resurface of this suffering is hard. But at the end of the day, they committed a crime.
@@EricAriel5 yes, they did it. I personally believe that their defence of Abuse doesn’t hold water, ( based on the doco ), so they received the appropriate sentence.
@@marcandreasson87, there are now two separate sources that have recently come to light. One is a victim that alleges that Jose sexually abused him as a boy. The second is a letter written by Eric to a cousin in which Eric tells his cousin that the sexual abuse by his father (the letter recipient’s uncle). was still continuing to occur. Since their 1997 trial, California law was changed to allow victims of sexual abuse to have their evidence heard in court and to allow for a reduced, third degree manslaughter conviction with a maximum of 25 years rather than the first degree murder convictions and life without parole sentences they received. No evidence of sexual abuse was allowed at the trial that convicted them of first degree murder. The law now says that based on the testimony at the time that was quashed and the evidence that has since come to light that they would have been convicted of manslaughter instead, and I tend to agree.
The jury in the second trial went with life without parole because in the penalty phase, the jurors were finally able to hear corroborative testimony about the abuse that the brothers endured at the hands of their parents. This, coupled with the fact that they had no history of violence prior to killing their parents and that their teachers and coaches spoke well of them ultimately helped the jurors decide on the penalty. As one juror put it, "These were not lives to be thrown into a grave." While the D.A.'s Office sought the death penalty against the Menendez brothers, this very same D.A.'s Office did not seek the death penalty against O.J. Simpson, who did have a history of violence.
Dude, how tf is that a story?? They had evidence and witnesses that knew about the abuse, not to mention a third victim of the father saying he suffered the same abuse. They also have new evidence
@@vangielacap9978 why did it take so long for him to come forward?? These kids were robbing their neighbors and refusing to work! If what they say is true why didnt they leave home? Why didnt they get jobs and go live their lives? Because they were spoiled and wanted the easy way in life not earning their way and it might very well be true that their father was a tyrant but murder is murder no matter how you slice it it was very clear that both parents had to be dead for them toy get the money and lets not talk about all the shopping they did afterwards, totally disgusting their lawyer spun this tale Total nonsense
By this time they'd been in jail for six years and were facing death penalties or life without parole. They were also spending every red cent on lawyers. If I was in that situation I'd say anything very convincingly also, and express any emotion with as much genuine and heartfelt fervour as I could humanly muster. It's also strange that they only allegedly confided in their cousins and no friends. Obviously the cousins needed the money they were paid to testify. In any case even if it was true, you can't kill anyone who isn't trying to kill you, just because you think they might be going to do that.
The documentaries usually only mention the cousins but Lyle Menendez told his friend Donovan Goodreau about sexual abuse in May 1989 after Donovan told Lyle he himself was molested as a child. Goodreau was called as a prosecution witness and was impeached with a tape recorded interview he gave to a reporter before the defense in the case was made public. The tape was excluded from the second trial.
@@menendeztrials Now that I've watched more on this case, I've started to see evidence that is very difficult to refute, that these boys were sexually molested by their father. While it's not an excuse to murder someone, because leaving the home is an available option also, it should nonetheless be taken into account with regard to the length of the sentence. The only problem I can see here is that the father went to great pains to get Lyle through Princeton, turn Eric into a pro tennis player, and save both of them from the shame of being exposed as house burglars (paying off neighbours huge money after the boys cleaned out their properties). This is spending a lot of money, time and effort on their betterment, which doesn't sit well with the child molestation. Most peoples' idea of a child molester of his own children isn't someone who will do anything to promote the careers and save the reputations of his wayward children - if anything someone doing that would have no interest in such things. Other than that however, there isn't a lot to indicate that the father was a reasonable person who treated others well; but there are witnesses from many walks of life who say he routinely treated others badly. Unless they're being paid off, they have nothing to gain by expressing their quite strongly negative opinions about him and his wife, three or four decades after the events. I don't believe it's excessive to fear that your life would be in danger from him as his son at the ages they were; Jose himself may have actually feared them killing him in retaliation as they reached adulthood, and been planning something to stop that. The brothers also didn't have the wherewithal to survive on the outside at the ages they were- and they had no worldly experience that would present other options. They had no income independent of their family. Perhaps a new trial will take the abuse into account (unlike the 90s) as a mitigating factor to the length of confinement.
@@ritaeichler2066 No possiblity of parole seems excessive to me given that they murdered relatives and were very young at the time - just a few years out of school. Studies have shown that males haven't developed their brain's pre-frontal cortex sufficiently by this time to be able to curtail behaviour with a high risk level. That should be shown to the court because by now, they would've developed that neurologically.
@@ritaeichler2066 The prosecutors in both trials did seek the death penalty. It wasn't until the penalty phase of the second trial that the jurors were able to hear corroboration of the abuse (which they hadn't been permitted to hear prior to reaching their verdict) that they ultimately decided to reject the death penalty and sentenced them to life without parole.
I think it's b.s how after the Menendez bros didn't get convicted in the 1st trial that the Prosecutor's were able to Try them again without allowing the Brothers to even mention their motive of how their idiot Father was molesting both of the Brothers throughout their lives! Which is the ONLY way the Prosecution could fet a guilty conviction. PLUS the way their Psychiatrist weasled his way AROUND the Doctor/Client Confidentiality Law without getting any reprucussions! So, they only convicted the Menendez Brothers by bending and twisting the Law the way the Gov't officials ALWAYS get aeay with! What BULLCRAP!
This video failed to mention all the evidence against the brothers that casted doubt on their sexual abuse story. I watched this news unfold as they happened in 1989 and the trial on courtTv. The inconsistencies in their stories during the police investigation, the excessive spending they made, immediately after the murders, their questionable behavior and the damaging audio recordings of the brothers left no doubt they did it and that they did it for money reasons. 1.) Dr. Oziel, the brothers psychologist, recorded the brothers conversation after Eric confessed to him that him and his brother Lyle had killed their parents. When Lyle shows up at Dr. Oziel’s office, Eric tells him he has just told Dr. Oziel about the murders, Lyle replies upset “What are we going to do now?…We’re gonna have to kill the Dr. too.” 2.)Eric also confessed the murders to a high school friend, who by the way, Eric took on a tour around the murder house and told/showed him step by step the disturbing details on how they did it without showing any emotions at all. The friend was so distraught that went to the police to report it. The police then had him wear a wire and while Eric didn’t repeat the confession details, he did say to him “Remember what I told you the other day, if you say anything, my brother and I will get rid of you too.” 3.)Lyle’s conversation with his girlfriend which he tells her “I need you to say that my father sexually abused you as well” to which she replies to him “I cannot say that because that is not true.” Again these are tape recording conversations with the brothers voices saying these things. This is not the behavior of sexually abuse victims.
Erik Menendez confessed to Oziel in October 1989. The tape of Oziel discussing the murders with the Menendez brothers was recorded in December. Oziel testified the motive was not financial and the tape makes no reference to murder for financial gain.(the theory on the tape is a domineering father and mercy killing of the mother) Prosecutors used the recording in the second trial to show premeditation not to prove a motive. The prosecutor even told jurors in opening statements: "but on the recording, the defendants do not admit that they killed their parents for reason of financial gain." The quote, "What are we going to do now…" Is not on that tape. Oziel's mistress, Judalon Smyth, was the source of it. Smyth later recanted several of her original statements claiming she was "brainwashed" by Oziel and that she believed everything he was telling her about the sessions. The statement is up to the credibility of Oziel and Smyth. The only verbal threat Oziel reported (after his mistress went to the police, he never did) as a reason to break confidentiality was that Lyle Menendez told him after the October session "Good luck, Dr. Oziel." Erik Menendez told Cignarelli about the murders around early September of 1989. The detectives contacted Cignarelli in November. He didn't contact them himself. He told the police of Erik's confession but also said "it could have happened". He said he wasn't sure if it was true, "I didn't want to be the one to bring him down. I wasn't sure a hundred percent if I believed him, and it was a morality issue. I didn't want to be the one to do it." Craig wore a wire and met with Erik later that month. The quote "We'll get rid of you too" was never recorded or testified to, not sure where you got that from. Menendez said, "Surely you didn't tell the police what I told you, did you?" Cignarelli replied, "Yeah, like I told the police that." The detectives were listening in, if Menendez would have threatened Craig's life, surely they would have arrested him? The conversation between Lyle Menendez and Jamie Pisarchik where he asked her to lie for him was in one of the jail visits. A recording was not introduced into evidence, Both testified about the conversation. All that still doesn't contradict that they were sexually abused or proves a soley financial motive. There was corroborating evidence of abuse in this case.
@@lavaalamps5 People’s testimonies are not considered evidence. Many people have lied on the stand before. There was however forensic evidence presented at the trial that left beyond reasonable doubt that they killed their parents to inherit their fortune.
@@malegi29 The defense felt they should be convicted of involuntary manslaughter. But involuntary manslaughters is hardless a plausible explanation when you: a. Purchase the murder weapons two days in advance using someone else's I.D.. b. Purchase said weapons two hours away from where you live. c. Storming in with guns blazing while the victims are watching a movie on their television. Also, it's important to note that the brothers admitted that they knew that their parents were not an imminent threat when they killed them in a 1996 interview with Barbara Walters. ua-cam.com/video/N5nK-bHJvOk/v-deo.html Imperfect self defense requires that the defendant having an unreasonable belief that they were in imminent danger at the time of the murders(imminent being the key word here). Lyle admits in the interview that he was aware that their parents were not scheming to murder them in that moment. If he could come to that conclusion he could also come to the conclusion that there was a window of opportunity to leave home. He could have taken his brother and left home never to return, but he and his brother didn't Their premise amounts to horseshit considering their behavior before, during, and after the murders. If they really wanted any form of leniency they should have turned themselves into the authorities after they killed their parents. Instead, they put on this elaborate seven month long dog and pony show beginning with their infamous 911 call.
meryl streep is very convincing,watch her practicing. These guys do have education and awards as actors in HS. Their father works for the film industry. Erik do wrote a screenplay based on his ideation for the crime. So, yes, very convincing...
Erik only took drama in his senior year of high school, as drama is a mandatory course at Beverly Hills High School. Lyle never took a drama class. Jose only worked in the film industry in the last three years of his life; Lyle was residing in New Jersey for much of that time. Erik co-wrote that "screenplay" with his friend at the time, Craig Cignarelli; it was written at least a year prior to the killings and Kitty typed it up for him. For those reasons, the screenplay was ruled inadmissible. The "acting" argument is ridiculous, again, stated by someone who clearly has not watched the first trial and hasn't seen or heard the corroborative evidence of abuse.
It was a planned and calculated crime. Did you watch and listen to this video. Both explain what made them “snap,” but it happened at least a week before this murders, which they worked out and planned in advance. There was no “ trigger” on the day of the killings.
you don't understand? just 2 photos concerning the sexual accusation supposedly made by their father, poorly framed photos that look like a child took it! but it's mostly Lyle recorded in prison saying that he could cry on command and that this story of sexual abuse was a good idea. there are testimonies like the gardener who explains to what extent the brothers were disrespectful towards their parents! even a car dealership witnessed a surreal scene when Jose Menendez gave Lyle a convertible Alfa Romeo for his graduation and Lyle insulted his father by telling him that the car was shit!! you are really naive to believe that 2 athletes like them were raped while they were men, but especially after all their lies about their parents who wanted to kill them. It's not credible, their behavior, their lies, the recording with the psychologist where there is no mention of sexual abuse anywhere! In truth, it’s a story that has already been seen. It's possible that their father was harsh with them, but no wonder, there are difficult fathers and they are not monsters. What we do Lyle and Eric there are no words to describe the horror of their actions! how can they believe their lies for a moment and believe that they deserve this punishment?! I tell you, they will burn in hell for that and death should have taken them to join their parents. I agree that it is not just money, but a whole: it is also the freedom of no longer having to answer to their parents, with a new life full of wealth and adventures. They did this to be free and in the end they pay the price.
Wait a minute, I thought the detectives seen that the brothers friend was the one that purchased the guns? They actually used fake names? Hmmm which is actually true?
The brothers purchased the shotguns with Donovan Goodreau's actual I.D. (Erik looked enough like him that the clerk didn't notice he wasn't Donovan. Erik wrote a fake address and signed Donovan's name on the form) Donovan was kicked out of Lyle's Princeton dorm room in May 1989 after Lyle's friends found out he wasn't really a student there. Donovan accidentally left a bag of personal belongings behind. Lyle Menendez later gave Donovan's I.D to his brother (who was 18). When the brothers went to purchase the shotguns on August 19, 1989 neither of them had a valid California I.D. They used Donovan's I.D to purchase the weapons. The police were only able to track it down because Judalon Smyth told them in March 1990 that the murder weapons were purchased in San-Diego. Police then looked through San-Diego store records for shotgun purchases and recognized Goodreau's name. Goodreau confirmed he lost his I.D. and was in New-York at the time the guns were purchased.
If you don’t like what’s happening in your house - LEAVE. Call authorities, or don’t, whatever you want to do. But you are not allowed to kill. But let me guess, they didn’t like the way they were being treated, at the same time they DID WANT all those millions.
Rich people stay at home till how old. I was never abused or raped and I was out of the house when I was an adult 18 living on my own in Santa Monica working on promenade all alone. These punks living at home with mommy and daddy as adults then turn into innocent abused kids. If they were scared both of them could have been gone at 18 years old. One of them stayed for 3 years he felt so abused. They are lazy losers that kept themselves in abuse. Then had nerve to live in house use money and even keep same emotion support paid for by daddy...who carma made them confess too. These kids confessed to the counselor that daddy set up and paid for because they were thief. All they did in life is steal people stuff and waiste people's time they are a waste of electricity and air and food. Could be used to feed and cloth and shelter a couple homeless. Will always be daddy's boys now....
The problem with the alleged sexual abuse by Jose is that it does not explain why they gunned Jose and Kitty whilst they were watching a film. What danger were they in at the time that they pumped them both full of bullets? Self defense is not the case here because Jose and Kitty posed no apparent immediate threat at that time. If Jose was sexually abusing Erik and Lyle I understand but why was Kitty shot 10 times and why did Lyle go back to his car to reload his gun to then fire the fatal shot?
Now if the brothers had really thought it out properly, meaning that if everything they said was true about the abuse, child abuse as kids daddy touching them mum touching them, then all they needed to do is say the dad had the knife & mum as well lyle and eric got a knife to defend themselves and then the parents tried to use knife's to attack the brothers, then they would be free right now, due to self defence full stop. Thats how stupid they are and ( buying shotguns to kill your parents) will rot in jail for the rest of their life's full stop. god bless the parents, trying to provide the best for their kids. 😥😥😢😢🦘🦘👌👌🙏🙏🙏🙏👍👍
After 35 years those boys have served their debt. Never mind a new trial, just release them. They suffered as kids and the bias and hate that tainted the trial was enough to convince me that they deserve freedom and a chance at happiness.
They should be released. Culture around sexual abuse towards men have changed a lot. They would win their trial today!
@@Highland_Moo Why they killed the mother? It doesn’t matter to me if they were abused or not. If I was abused I would move out. They had no right to kill the parents, and lie about it for months, living good life, and spending money that was not theirs.
@@InHitchWeTrustShe abused them too and sided with the father ....
@@mb8219 I always found it astounding that women often defended the abusers, even if the victims were females.
@@InHitchWeTrust Some kids learned to survive by moving quickly and taking on odd jobs, but their upbringing often left them ill-equipped for the outside world. It's hard to comprehend how they could resort to killing, but it's difficult to judge without being in their shoes. Human brains are not fully developed until at least in the mid-to-late 20s so I don't think they fully knew what options do they have. To move out, you need a job, it is much easier to say than doing it, it requires great courage to confront the unknown.
The second time the jury should have been allowed to hear the full story!
Set them free! They've served more than enough time!
Their parents were monsters! Sick
Jose and Kittys abuse mistreatment incest and molestation of Erik and Lyle should have never went unpunished or unprosecuted by law.
The brain is wired differently when you’ve undergone years of abuse as a child. My mother and I planned my father’s murder when I was fourteen. Now, we never went through with it and I am glad we did not, but I can tell you for nothing, at that time we believed if we hadn’t taken the opportunity to finish him, he’d finish us in a matter of time. It’s hard to explain except to say that when you feel your life is in danger on a daily basis for years and years, any opportunity to get to take out the oppressor IS self defence.
Free Eric and Lyle! The second trial was completely rigged. They deserve a new trial. Gosh
FREE..they murdered their parents in cold blood...if you can kill your parents..you are capable of killing anyone..spoiled rich grown ass men who could not wait for their parents to die naturally so they helped it along
That nasty judge engineered the whole thing.
@@realhousewifeoftransylvania1.0 You mean the judge engineered the brothers into murdering their parents? I didn't know a judge could be so powerful.
@@jstephenjThe judge who was more concerned with career advancement (getting re-elected) that he conspired with the prosecutors to block and limit defense evidence and testimony to get a conviction. For someone who claims to know so much about this case, you get many things wrong.
no he was there and could have stopped the other brother, but did not do anything?🦘🦘✌✌👍👍
Release those men already! Their "parents" were 2 monsters. May they rot in hell. 🔥
They got what they deserved. Free Erik and Lyle.
Now we know that his father was a child abuser, why did he abuse a member of the Puerto Rican group called Menudo.
Absolutely! I’m so glad that people like you exist who are not afraid to tell the truth. Their parents deserve everything they got. Erik & Lyle are heroes.
@@Marnie311wow, just, wow
@@Marnie311, I would never call them heroes, not in any universe. However, if the facts are anything close to what was portrayed in the first trial of each brother, as opposed to the third, joint trial in which any claims of abuse by the father (or mother) were not allowed and never considered by the jury, then they have served their time for the manslaughter conviction they would have received and should be released from prison. Given what’s come to light I lean strongly toward the latter.
amen to that!
This channel is vastly underrated. I'm gathering so much information from all these videos enough to start a podcast and very keen to give commentary on this.
They deserve another trial even after all of these years
No, they already had 3 trials and numerous attempts at overturning their convictions already. The brothers are right where they belong. Donovan Correction Facility, their rightful residency.
@@jstephenj nice way of victim blaming, you are ignorant in these situations where victims in abusive households are convinced by their abusers that there is no escape and no help outside and all they know is abuse and shame until they realize their only way out is violence. Their case is no different than any abuse victim such as a battered wife, a rape victim and that of molested children, which they are the latter. Older siblings are protective of their younger siblings, Lyle could handle what his monster father did to him and his complicit mother but Lyle was not going to enable and live with the abuse being done to his brother Erik.
@@jstephenj They had 2 trials, not three.
@@jstephenj Given what has been revealed in the past two days, your comments cannot be taken seriously.
@@Muirmaiden 3 trials. 2 separate during the first trial and then tried together for the third. So what I said was true. But then, you only recognize one of the trials, Muirmaiden, as you like to pretend that the second trial never happened at all. Spoiler alert. Erik and Lyle Menendez were convicted on two counts of first degree murder and sentenced to life without parole. I know, a shocker, but one for the history books nonetheless.
I think this crime was unfortunately a few decades too early for the allegations of horrific abuse against them to be fairly heard. I’ve read a lot about the case and feel now it would be treated very differently and they wouldn’t be in jail now. I certainly believe them
The only abuse was physical, meaning that the dad hit them when they did something wrong, which at that time going back decades always was the case and even today, yet other family members do not kill their parents and blame it on abuse by the dad?
No excuse, it was all about money full stop, within days a week at least they spent on expensive items now if thats not a dead give away i do not know what is, rot in jail full stop, murder your own dad and mum shooting them with shotguns, now if there was forensic evidence that the dad was bashing the two sons and they had to fight back and stabbed the dad and accidentally stabbed the mum them in self defence, then they would be free now? 😥😥🙏🙏🦘🦘✌✌👍👍
I dont, the cries of a man who knows he murdered his dad and mum, thats why both of them cried full stop. What you need to see is the homicide video tapes & why the homicide ick did not have gun powder residue tests done on them, still even back then the brothers being so stupid would have not thought of removal of any trace evidence on thier bodys hands face and burn the clothes, shoes socks everything, but also make sure they have fresh blood stains on the shoes they had on when they run out, plus blood stains on the pants on a side which would be consistent of walking through to check on both parents. Its not rocket science, its forensic science which catches the lies you tell at the homicide interviews?
Also how many times are people sent to jail just over circumstantial evidence and no smoking gun or forensic evidence from a crime scene? 🙏🙏🦘🦘👌👌👍👍
You can't possibly say 100% they were not abused,unless you were there ? @7071t6
@@GA-fz2wt agreed, but also where did i say 100%?
@@7071t6, you are incorrect. The claims by both sons and confirmed by several relatives was of SEXUAL ABUSE, not only PHYSICAL abuse, which by the way can be as bad or worse than SEXUAL ABUSE.
They have served more than enough time at this point and should be freed
That 90s Show brought me here!
"If Facebook had been around back in the days..."
Thank God internet/social media was not around during this golden era...
Problem is, when it’s premeditated- the law defines the act as murder. Not manslaughter. That’s the legal bar.
the fact that these boy's testimony was broadcast on live tv is a fkn disgrace. shame on your American law system and the American public. Shame.
The abuse had everything to do with the case.
So the second trial was set up to purposely go against the defense. How is this blind justice? How is this fair?
It’s Not fair and it’s certainly Not Blind Justice!!! It’s the total Opposite of it!! This was manslaughter Not first degree murder!!!!
Judge has corruption alligations. .. sick
Love the channel ♥️
How come Gypsy Rose is out and these guys are not? Can someone comment please, thanks.
I guess its because she didnt actually kill her mom. She participated in planning and making it possible. Plus they had a lot of evidence against her mom from doctors and people from their neighbourhood and film recordings where her mom did what gypsy said. People will probably never admit it tho, but the fact that gypsy is a girl who got abused probably causes mor empathy than rich boys. Sadly..
She shouldn’t be out . She seems absolutely proud that she helped that sociopath kill her mother.
Gypsy didn't inherit $14 million and start spending it.
She should be in prison. Just like they should. Even if molested, we have courts for that kind of situations.
Completely different circumstances…smh
Even if you’re against them, they’ve served their time AND they’ve been kept apart for 21 years. Free them.
Free Eric and Lyle. Also, the new show did them so dirty.
What about all the adults who knew and never said anything or looked into it? How are there no consequences for them? Heartbreaking. All the adults in their lives failed them
Probably because the boys lied about their abuse
The judge was one sided.shame on him.
I come from a loving family, never in my worst nightmares have I ever thought about harming anyone, but specially not my parents. These parents killed the soul of those two boys and none was there to defend them from their abuse. Where was the justice system during they were growing up in such a horrible environment? If they killed their parents,the way they did I it there must be a reason. Please let them out and start caring about providing justice to the real victims of a crime. Start protecting the children at any cost and against anyone harming them!
The 2nd trial was a joke.They needcto be released
The emotions on the 911 call was real, no wait it wasn’t.
I did not get the sense these brothers were hoping to get away with anything.
I believed the two brothers were Sexually abused by their dad. You can see the pains as they spoke about their sexual abuse. There also Erik told his cousin when he was 15 about his dad sexually abused him. Hope one day they can go FREE . THEY ARE VICTIMS!!
If these two grown men had it so bad why did they not just move out....get jobs ...support themselves.....their so called sexual abuse was never brought up until they needed an excuse for killing their parents
@@christineyetman640there was evidence presented of father being very controlling , strict & condescending, but it doesnt excuse double murder! All they had to do was leave their home & support themselves! I dont believe the sexual abuse because lyle asked his then girlfriend amy to testify to a fake story of that & she refused.
@@ritaeichler2066There was far more evidence than that, against BOTH parents.
@@christineyetman640 if u hear the details they shot 15 shells into their parents that's pure hatred if they really just wanted to kill them one shot would do it but they had pure hatred toward them
Which means some sort of abuse had to have happened
If the family was aware of the abuse that would corroborate their story so y didn't anyone believe them? Just wild to me that they just totally dismissed all the testimonies?
Set them boys free they have endured enough as it is!
They didnt not beleive them 1 tral was a hung jury second trial.all abuse evidence was excluded the u could use it and tha5s when they were convicted
Once again i see judge Ito in a clip. Ito was in OJ Simpson trail.
#FreeTheMenendezBrothers 🤞🏻🩷
GIVE THE BROTHERS A SUNRISE NOT SUNSET!
They're good Actors 😢
ABUSE OF ANY KIND IS WRONG AND IT DOESN'T MATTER MATTER WHERE YOU LIVE OR WHO YOU ARE WHAT RACE YOU ARE OR COUNTRY YOU LIVE IN ETC , IT HAPPENS EVERYWHERE IN THE WORLD 🌎 I KNOW BECAUSE IT DID IN FACT IT EVEN HAPPENED TO ME TOO NOT LIKE THESE MENENDEZ BROTHERS , BUT ABUSE WILL NEVER BE RIGHT PERIOD INCLUDING SEXUAL ASSAULT AND RAPE WHICH IS TECHNICALLY THE SAME THING 😢 SERIOUSLY , I TRULY HONESTLY BELIEVE AND SUPPORT. THESE GUYS , THEY NEED TO BE RELEASED AS THEY HAVE DONE THEIR DUE TIME AND THEIR PARENTS WERE MONSTERS 👻 IN DISGUISE AND GOT 💯 % EVERYTHING THEY DESERVE AND WE'RE PROTECTING THEMSELVES 🎉🎉😢😢❤❤ SOMETIMES YOU HAVE TO TAKE THE LAW INTO YOUR OWN HANDS ✋️ BECAUSE THE LAW WON'T HELP YOU ANYMORE AND THAT'S THE GOD'S HONEST TRUTH TOO , LYLE AND ERIK I PRAY YOU BOTH GET FREED ASAP AND HAVE A LIFE OF LOVE ❤❤AND PEACE ✌️ 🎉🎉
GOD BLESS YOU 🙌 GUYS
So many people say "why didnt they just call the police?" Or " they could of joined the military, or gone to college!" No they couldnt. That would never be good enough for Jose. I believe they did what they had to do to servive. I truely wish tey could of just left. But that was not possible. Jose would of found them, and brought them back. I think they did what they thought was their only choice. We all wish they had a better out, but in their lives i get it.
Lyle was going to Princeton all the way across the country. He was suspended and he could have stayed in NJ, but he chose to go back, why would he if they were abused
@karenmariebragg4642 he flunked out. A d maybe to help his brother?
@@kellyjacquin715 he didn't flunk out, he was caught plagiarizing. Yeah he helped his brother 🔫 down their parents. A shot 🔫 to the back of the head is not self defense. Reloading & 🔫 their mom in her face as she was begging for her life is not self defense. They massacred them both & tried to get away with it, for the $$$$
@karenmariebragg4642 or they were noth molested by tyrants pretending to be parents!
They’ve been victimised twice. Once by their parents then again by the justice system
It’s a Dam Shame those young boys were Abused by their Parents. They be set Free after all these years. The will set them Free 😢.
THEY GOT WHAT THEY DESERVE TO FREE THE BOYS
I think they did a great job on the show. I remember them in court it’s time to let them go.
The government got millions inheritance tax while the prosecuters claimed the brother were greedy but in fact the 2 brothers have no one cent today !! Just to think about ...
No. The irs was paid estate taxes from the sale of the properties and legal, real estate fees, under appraised, deflated property values, and grossly overestimates in the values of Jose’s stocks. The outstanding mortgage balances were paid. The estate had originally been valued at 14mil. In the end, the value was reduced dramatically. No 1039 exchange when it’s not reinvested in a new property. No inheritance taxes as it was a deceased inheritance considered a one time gift.
Smug lawyers even shrieked when they won the case… ugh! So cringe. Saying it wasnt about winning its about justice.. what in the actual h?? I just hope and pray none of your kids go through what these kids got through..
If they would kill for money why with so much hate?
No1 can kill their parent just for money with so much cruality
THINK ABOUT IT OK ?????????
HAVE YOU EVER BEEN SEXUALLY ASSAULTED OR RAPED BY YOUR OWN PARENTS DUMMY 🤔 😕 🙄
THAT'S WHY THEY HATED THEIR PARENTS OK , ARE YOU AWAKE NOW , ARE YOU PAYING ATTENTION NOW KNUCKLE HEAD OR ARE YOU JUST PLAIN STUPID AND FULL OF MARBLES IN YOUR BRAIN 🧠 😮??? WAKE UPTO REALITY
MENUDO
They wanted a guilty about t verdict.they did not care about them being molested for years.free them immediately.
Corrupted judged and prosecutor...🙄 clearly
#JusticeForErikAndLyle
To think that Lyle and Erik we're the only victims of their father is crazy when he was a executive producer he did it to another little boy and old people decide to not bring that to the trial to make them look worse it was more evidence to show their father did that to them and they could've gotten a lower sentence
Look who the judge is at 12:13!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ITOOOOO
@@SethMacLeod95, that shouldn’t be too surprising. It was the same jurisdiction.
@@fredericklmeade2947ITOOOOOOOO
@@SethMacLeod95 Now you can work your way to three syllables.
@@fredericklmeade2947 EAT OOOO
🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
They did not think they had access to the money because their parents told them and others they were disinherited them. Furthermore, the subsequent spending shopping spree clearly was not accessible to them in that manner.
Kids are killing their parents today for inheritance, not wanting to follow rules, etc. why is it hard to believe the same for the brothers? Stop it.
Did they investigate Edgardo Diaz the trafficking leader bring the Menudos and covering.
A miss trial should be a non guilty verdict by default
Free erick and lyle
They should be freedom. What has come to light is sickening. People new things. Nobody did nothing. There just as guilty. Did the judge use them as example. They have served enough time. There parents were monsters. My opinion.
After they looked in pain like that during testimony they still got life without parole what the hell was wrong with people back then? Explains why at the same time there was racism & all kinds of evil. This is a whole new generation and we say Erik and Lyle should be freed!
Comments for Lyle and Eric as not being villains, but victims, is ludacris. José was shot 6 times, including the fatal shot in the back of the head with a Mossberg 12-gauge shotgun. Kitty was shot 10 times in total. Both were OBLITERATED. I was abused terribly (I wrote an autobiography about it!!), but even at 5 years old, I knew murder, especially pre-meditated, deliberate, brutal/violent cold-blooded, bloody revenge was wrong. There was no will (changed or not) or inheritance more important than my "freedom." Flee from the abuse. I also knew robbing people's cars and homes was wrong, but the brothers did that too. I got a job and moved out at 17 instead. They could've, and should've made different/better choices. They should never get out of prison.
You dont share the same experiences as these brothers. No child of abuse does. Also youre a female. Our thought process work different than males. They are victims!! And honestly the dad deserved to die. Youre Ludacris for dismissing the psychological damages sex abuse on children brains can do. Even if you were able to overcome them. Others cope in different ways.
There is no evidence whatsoever that they killed their parents for money, and there was evidence of abuse. Watch the first trial.
I wonder how you’d behave if your wealthy parents who think they can do literally anything they want to you, were sexually molesting you since the age of six. Do not judge a person unless you’ve walked in their shoes.
Good thing you don’t work in the mental health field. You talk like everyone can just think like you. I’m not saying these dudes are innocent, but there are cases where the victim seen no other choice but murder.
This comment didn’t age well just 2 days ago. Wish to retract your statement?
If every abused kid in the world murdered the abuser,the jails would be bursting ...
Killing was not the answer.And this were ADULTS.They could just get a job and move out of the palace they lived in.
You don't know what severe trauma from longtime abuse snd fear does to people. A traumatized person is triggered much more and there were many many things the parents said and did that every normal person would feel threatened to death.
Were you raped / molested by your parents longterm and were you neglected by a coldhearted psychopathic mother?
I guess not. So keep silent about things you don't understand.
@@heavenclear4327we are all here to speculate so shut the fuck up. And don’t assume whomever you’re talking to doesnt have a background of sexual abuse. The country is full of people who were abused as children and didn’t kill their parents.
You sound questionable 🤨
While they are indeed adults in the eyes of the law, that doesn’t make them adults in their ability to reason, think, discern or consider their situation or their options or the consequences of their choices. It doesn’t make them emotionally mature. And if sexually abused - or physically or emotionally abused - their maturity would be that much more stunted - by years. And if the only reality they knew was the one constructed by their parents then their perception of their range of options would be very limited.
This doesn’t mean that killing was the answer, but it does provide a significant (actually, enormous) mitigating factor.
What’s being argued now is that with the most recent evidence apparently substantiating that sexual abuse really did occur then brothers would have been found guilty of manslaughter, not first degree murder, and would have been sentenced to a maximum of 25 years each and would have been released by now.
Yes…if everyone “got why they deserved” this would be the case and it would be the wild Wild West…it’s curious how people wield their outrage depending on the person or persons accused
This video does a really terrible job talking about the actual details of the case. I have so many unanswered questions. What led up to the murders? What happened the day of the murders? Was there a specific event that triggered them or was it just built up over the years? If $ was the motive, what level of access did they already have to their father's wealth? Was there maybe fear that he would cut them out of his will if they turned him in to authorities? So disappointed.
Its seams like to me that familie and friends of menedez mean that Kitty and Jose got what they disure
Great documentery thanks for sharing.
Well we all know they couldn't say all of those things about there father if he were alive.... Because it's true, he would of killed them or had them go missing for disgracing him... So how could they tell anyone back then? I can fully see how they felt it was there only way out of sexual abuse and control.
I hope the same Lawyer in Lyle is not the same. She did a terrible job. Erik’s lawyer the best ❤
"they were speaking another language- pretty sure it was.......asian"
Awful case. How cold blooded do you have to be to put on shot gun up to your mother’s face and pull the trigger, again and again so that you can get your hands on money? They hated the father because they were a couple of losers who would never be successful like him. The love of money is the root of all evil.
Omg I feel so sorry for this guys, víctims they parents were the mounsters,
When one is literally about to spend life in prison, ones acting skills reach Oscar level performances..... OJ Simpson and the Menendez brothers are all about Hollywood and by any means necessary!
Now we know that his father was a child abuser, why did he abuse a member of the Puerto Rican group called Menudo.
It was an interesting story. However, the documentary is really bad written and directed. We have no background, it feels like there are missing pieces. There was no real beginning and no real end. It was too fast. I was looking forward to get to know better this horrific real life events but the whole episode left me unconvinced.
Now about what i think of this affair : yes they brutally murdered their parents (firt degree murder) and they could left the house, they could prevent all that. They planned all this days ago.
But the physical and psychological abuse from their parents probably obstructed their reason. Trauma can lead you to act spontaneously. Hear me out, i am not saying their actions were justified, it was NOT, but after years of abuse and mistreatment, your mind can be broke into million pieces. And all this affected them. Their pain was real during the triral. Havin to resurface of this suffering is hard.
But at the end of the day, they committed a crime.
I believe after seeing this documentary that the brothers were guilty as charged. Just my opinion.
It’s never been a question of guilt,we know they did it,they admit it,it’s always been about WHY.
@@EricAriel5 yes, they did it. I personally believe that their defence of Abuse doesn’t hold water, ( based on the doco ), so they received the appropriate sentence.
@@marcandreasson87, there are now two separate sources that have recently come to light. One is a victim that alleges that Jose sexually abused him as a boy. The second is a letter written by Eric to a cousin in which Eric tells his cousin that the sexual abuse by his father (the letter recipient’s uncle). was still continuing to occur.
Since their 1997 trial, California law was changed to allow victims of sexual abuse to have their evidence heard in court and to allow for a reduced, third degree manslaughter conviction with a maximum of 25 years rather than the first degree murder convictions and life without parole sentences they received.
No evidence of sexual abuse was allowed at the trial that convicted them of first degree murder. The law now says that based on the testimony at the time that was quashed and the evidence that has since come to light that they would have been convicted of manslaughter instead, and I tend to agree.
If they weren't rich and high profile they would have gotten the death penalty. Their parents wealth save their lives, plain and simple!
The jury in the second trial went with life without parole because in the penalty phase, the jurors were finally able to hear corroborative testimony about the abuse that the brothers endured at the hands of their parents. This, coupled with the fact that they had no history of violence prior to killing their parents and that their teachers and coaches spoke well of them ultimately helped the jurors decide on the penalty. As one juror put it, "These were not lives to be thrown into a grave." While the D.A.'s Office sought the death penalty against the Menendez brothers, this very same D.A.'s Office did not seek the death penalty against O.J. Simpson, who did have a history of violence.
Their parents will clearly stated they had to die simultaneously in order for those boys to get that inheritance. There was no abuse. That’s a story.
Dude, how tf is that a story?? They had evidence and witnesses that knew about the abuse, not to mention a third victim of the father saying he suffered the same abuse. They also have new evidence
Ah ok can you explain about the menudo member. He even said he was hardly sexually abused by the father..
@@vangielacap9978 why did it take so long for him to come forward?? These kids were robbing their neighbors and refusing to work! If what they say is true why didnt they leave home? Why didnt they get jobs and go live their lives? Because they were spoiled and wanted the easy way in life not earning their way and it might very well be true that their father was a tyrant but murder is murder no matter how you slice it it was very clear that both parents had to be dead for them toy get the money and lets not talk about all the shopping they did afterwards, totally disgusting their lawyer spun this tale Total nonsense
@@leanneM-33 did you?
BULL SHIT , TELL ME WHAT ABUSE SHOULD LOOK LIKE
I hope you couldn’t sleep for 35 years,and by the way they are no liars,nov 29,primero Dios
Free Eric and Lyle!
By this time they'd been in jail for six years and were facing death penalties or life without parole. They were also spending every red cent on lawyers. If I was in that situation I'd say anything very convincingly also, and express any emotion with as much genuine and heartfelt fervour as I could humanly muster.
It's also strange that they only allegedly confided in their cousins and no friends. Obviously the cousins needed the money they were paid to testify.
In any case even if it was true, you can't kill anyone who isn't trying to kill you, just because you think they might be going to do that.
The documentaries usually only mention the cousins but Lyle Menendez told his friend Donovan Goodreau about sexual abuse in May 1989 after Donovan told Lyle he himself was molested as a child. Goodreau was called as a prosecution witness and was impeached with a tape recorded interview he gave to a reporter before the defense in the case was made public. The tape was excluded from the second trial.
@@menendeztrials Now that I've watched more on this case, I've started to see evidence that is very difficult to refute, that these boys were sexually molested by their father. While it's not an excuse to murder someone, because leaving the home is an available option also, it should nonetheless be taken into account with regard to the length of the sentence.
The only problem I can see here is that the father went to great pains to get Lyle through Princeton, turn Eric into a pro tennis player, and save both of them from the shame of being exposed as house burglars (paying off neighbours huge money after the boys cleaned out their properties). This is spending a lot of money, time and effort on their betterment, which doesn't sit well with the child molestation. Most peoples' idea of a child molester of his own children isn't someone who will do anything to promote the careers and save the reputations of his wayward children - if anything someone doing that would have no interest in such things.
Other than that however, there isn't a lot to indicate that the father was a reasonable person who treated others well; but there are witnesses from many walks of life who say he routinely treated others badly. Unless they're being paid off, they have nothing to gain by expressing their quite strongly negative opinions about him and his wife, three or four decades after the events.
I don't believe it's excessive to fear that your life would be in danger from him as his son at the ages they were; Jose himself may have actually feared them killing him in retaliation as they reached adulthood, and been planning something to stop that. The brothers also didn't have the wherewithal to survive on the outside at the ages they were- and they had no worldly experience that would present other options. They had no income independent of their family. Perhaps a new trial will take the abuse into account (unlike the 90s) as a mitigating factor to the length of confinement.
@@ReturnOfTheJ.D.they did take the abuse in consideration. Thats why the death penalty was taken off the table!
@@ritaeichler2066 No possiblity of parole seems excessive to me given that they murdered relatives and were very young at the time - just a few years out of school. Studies have shown that males haven't developed their brain's pre-frontal cortex sufficiently by this time to be able to curtail behaviour with a high risk level. That should be shown to the court because by now, they would've developed that neurologically.
@@ritaeichler2066 The prosecutors in both trials did seek the death penalty. It wasn't until the penalty phase of the second trial that the jurors were able to hear corroboration of the abuse (which they hadn't been permitted to hear prior to reaching their verdict) that they ultimately decided to reject the death penalty and sentenced them to life without parole.
FREE MENENDEZ BROTHERS ASAP
I think it's b.s how after the Menendez bros didn't get convicted in the 1st trial that the Prosecutor's were able to Try them again without allowing the Brothers to even mention their motive of how their idiot Father was molesting both of the Brothers throughout their lives! Which is the ONLY way the Prosecution could fet a guilty conviction. PLUS the way their Psychiatrist weasled his way AROUND the Doctor/Client Confidentiality Law without getting any reprucussions! So, they only convicted the Menendez Brothers by bending and twisting the Law the way the Gov't officials ALWAYS get aeay with! What BULLCRAP!
This video failed to mention all the evidence against the brothers that casted doubt on their sexual abuse story. I watched this news unfold as they happened in 1989 and the trial on courtTv. The inconsistencies in their stories during the police investigation, the excessive spending they made, immediately after the murders, their questionable behavior and the damaging audio recordings of the brothers left no doubt they did it and that they did it for money reasons.
1.) Dr. Oziel, the brothers psychologist, recorded the brothers conversation after Eric confessed to him that him and his brother Lyle had killed their parents. When Lyle shows up at Dr. Oziel’s office, Eric tells him he has just told Dr. Oziel about the murders, Lyle replies upset “What are we going to do now?…We’re gonna have to kill the Dr. too.”
2.)Eric also confessed the murders to a high school friend, who by the way, Eric took on a tour around the murder house and told/showed him step by step the disturbing details on how they did it without showing any emotions at all. The friend was so distraught that went to the police to report it. The police then had him wear a wire and while Eric didn’t repeat the confession details, he did say to him “Remember what I told you the other day, if you say anything, my brother and I will get rid of you too.”
3.)Lyle’s conversation with his girlfriend which he tells her “I need you to say that my father sexually abused you as well” to which she replies to him “I cannot say that because that is not true.”
Again these are tape recording conversations with the brothers voices saying these things. This is not the behavior of sexually abuse victims.
Erik Menendez confessed to Oziel in October 1989. The tape of Oziel discussing the murders with the Menendez brothers was recorded in December. Oziel testified the motive was not financial and the tape makes no reference to murder for financial gain.(the theory on the tape is a domineering father and mercy killing of the mother) Prosecutors used the recording in the second trial to show premeditation not to prove a motive. The prosecutor even told jurors in opening statements: "but on the recording, the defendants do not admit that they killed their parents for reason of financial gain."
The quote, "What are we going to do now…" Is not on that tape. Oziel's mistress, Judalon Smyth, was the source of it. Smyth later recanted several of her original statements claiming she was "brainwashed" by Oziel and that she believed everything he was telling her about the sessions. The statement is up to the credibility of Oziel and Smyth. The only verbal threat Oziel reported (after his mistress went to the police, he never did) as a reason to break confidentiality was that Lyle Menendez told him after the October session "Good luck, Dr. Oziel."
Erik Menendez told Cignarelli about the murders around early September of 1989. The detectives contacted Cignarelli in November. He didn't contact them himself. He told the police of Erik's confession but also said "it could have happened". He said he wasn't sure if it was true, "I didn't want to be the one to bring him down. I wasn't sure a hundred percent if I believed him, and it was a morality issue. I didn't want to be the one to do it."
Craig wore a wire and met with Erik later that month. The quote "We'll get rid of you too" was never recorded or testified to, not sure where you got that from. Menendez said, "Surely you didn't tell the police what I told you, did you?" Cignarelli replied, "Yeah, like I told the police that." The detectives were listening in, if Menendez would have threatened Craig's life, surely they would have arrested him?
The conversation between Lyle Menendez and Jamie Pisarchik where he asked her to lie for him was in one of the jail visits. A recording was not introduced into evidence, Both testified about the conversation.
All that still doesn't contradict that they were sexually abused or proves a soley financial motive. There was corroborating evidence of abuse in this case.
@@lavaalamps5 They had 14 million dollar reasons to kill their parents and there was never any evidence to the sexual abuse.
@@malegi29 Or maybe you're just unfamiliar with the evidence...
@@lavaalamps5 People’s testimonies are not considered evidence. Many people have lied on the stand before. There was however forensic evidence presented at the trial that left beyond reasonable doubt that they killed their parents to inherit their fortune.
@@malegi29 The defense felt they should be convicted of involuntary manslaughter. But involuntary manslaughters is hardless a plausible explanation when you:
a. Purchase the murder weapons two days in advance using someone else's I.D..
b. Purchase said weapons two hours away from where you live.
c. Storming in with guns blazing while the victims are watching a movie on their television.
Also, it's important to note that the brothers admitted that they knew that their parents were not an imminent threat when they killed them in a 1996 interview with Barbara Walters.
ua-cam.com/video/N5nK-bHJvOk/v-deo.html
Imperfect self defense requires that the defendant having an unreasonable belief that they were in imminent danger at the time of the murders(imminent being the key word here). Lyle admits in the interview that he was aware that their parents were not scheming to murder them in that moment. If he could come to that conclusion he could also come to the conclusion that there was a window of opportunity to leave home. He could have taken his brother and left home never to return, but he and his brother didn't
Their premise amounts to horseshit considering their behavior before, during, and after the murders. If they really wanted any form of leniency they should have turned themselves into the authorities after they killed their parents. Instead, they put on this elaborate seven month long dog and pony show beginning with their infamous 911 call.
meryl streep is very convincing,watch her practicing. These guys do have education and awards as actors in HS. Their father works for the film industry. Erik do wrote a screenplay based on his ideation for the crime. So, yes, very convincing...
Erik only took drama in his senior year of high school, as drama is a mandatory course at Beverly Hills High School. Lyle never took a drama class. Jose only worked in the film industry in the last three years of his life; Lyle was residing in New Jersey for much of that time. Erik co-wrote that "screenplay" with his friend at the time, Craig Cignarelli; it was written at least a year prior to the killings and Kitty typed it up for him. For those reasons, the screenplay was ruled inadmissible. The "acting" argument is ridiculous, again, stated by someone who clearly has not watched the first trial and hasn't seen or heard the corroborative evidence of abuse.
So why did the boyband their dad was managing; open up about jose touching them in innapropriate ways?
Did she say white males i didn't know cubans were white
they can be. the same way mexicans can be white or germans can be black.
They look pretty white
@@tuesdaytalagatheir mother white
So Erik and Lyle were Half Cuban and Swiss Scandinavian.
@@MelonySmith-rs5viWhile their father's family came from Cuba, they were of Spanish descent. Kitty was of Irish and Scandinavian ancestry.
Free em
i wonder on that day they shot their parents. what was the trigger that made them lose control.
It was a planned and calculated crime. Did you watch and listen to this video. Both explain what made them “snap,” but it happened at least a week before this murders, which they worked out and planned in advance. There was no “ trigger” on the day of the killings.
Blame the men
you don't understand? just 2 photos concerning the sexual accusation supposedly made by their father, poorly framed photos that look like a child took it!
but it's mostly Lyle recorded in prison saying that he could cry on command and that this story of sexual abuse was a good idea.
there are testimonies like the gardener who explains to what extent the brothers were disrespectful towards their parents! even a car dealership witnessed a surreal scene when Jose Menendez gave Lyle a convertible Alfa Romeo for his graduation and Lyle insulted his father by telling him that the car was shit!! you are really naive to believe that 2 athletes like them were raped while they were men, but especially after all their lies about their parents who wanted to kill them. It's not credible, their behavior, their lies, the recording with the psychologist where there is no mention of sexual abuse anywhere! In truth, it’s a story that has already been seen. It's possible that their father was harsh with them, but no wonder, there are difficult fathers and they are not monsters. What we do Lyle and Eric there are no words to describe the horror of their actions! how can they believe their lies for a moment and believe that they deserve this punishment?! I tell you, they will burn in hell for that and death should have taken them to join their parents. I agree that it is not just money, but a whole: it is also the freedom of no longer having to answer to their parents, with a new life full of wealth and adventures. They did this to be free and in the end they pay the price.
Witting Bypass
Wait a minute, I thought the detectives seen that the brothers friend was the one that purchased the guns? They actually used fake names? Hmmm which is actually true?
The brothers purchased the shotguns with Donovan Goodreau's actual I.D. (Erik looked enough like him that the clerk didn't notice he wasn't Donovan. Erik wrote a fake address and signed Donovan's name on the form)
Donovan was kicked out of Lyle's Princeton dorm room in May 1989 after Lyle's friends found out he wasn't really a student there. Donovan accidentally left a bag of personal belongings behind. Lyle Menendez later gave Donovan's I.D to his brother (who was 18). When the brothers went to purchase the shotguns on August 19, 1989 neither of them had a valid California I.D. They used Donovan's I.D to purchase the weapons. The police were only able to track it down because Judalon Smyth told them in March 1990 that the murder weapons were purchased in San-Diego. Police then looked through San-Diego store records for shotgun purchases and recognized Goodreau's name. Goodreau confirmed he lost his I.D. and was in New-York at the time the guns were purchased.
@@menendeztrials ohhh ok. Thank you.😊
@menendeztrials Lyle had Valid ID but left it back at school
I know he had a New Jersey I.D, but I recall there was evidence presented that his California one was suspended at the time.
If you don’t like what’s happening in your house - LEAVE. Call authorities, or don’t, whatever you want to do. But you are not allowed to kill.
But let me guess, they didn’t like the way they were being treated, at the same time they DID WANT all those millions.
Rich people stay at home till how old. I was never abused or raped and I was out of the house when I was an adult 18 living on my own in Santa Monica working on promenade all alone. These punks living at home with mommy and daddy as adults then turn into innocent abused kids. If they were scared both of them could have been gone at 18 years old. One of them stayed for 3 years he felt so abused. They are lazy losers that kept themselves in abuse. Then had nerve to live in house use money and even keep same emotion support paid for by daddy...who carma made them confess too. These kids confessed to the counselor that daddy set up and paid for because they were thief. All they did in life is steal people stuff and waiste people's time they are a waste of electricity and air and food. Could be used to feed and cloth and shelter a couple homeless. Will always be daddy's boys now....
Uh, that was ruthless
@@VitoriaL.S.S what is ruthless my comments or their actions?
@@davidowen2629 both :(
@Vih Silva your right I was thinking same thing, sometimes I vent.
Bro your an absolute fucking fool who known nothing about the case stfu
The problem with the alleged sexual abuse by Jose is that it does not explain why they gunned Jose and Kitty whilst they were watching a film. What danger were they in at the time that they pumped them both full of bullets?
Self defense is not the case here because Jose and Kitty posed no apparent immediate threat at that time.
If Jose was sexually abusing Erik and Lyle I understand but why was Kitty shot 10 times and why did Lyle go back to his car to reload his gun to then fire the fatal shot?
Even if they was abuse dont give them righte to kiil
Liberen a los Hermanos y dejen de torturarlos con tantas preguntas yo les creo pobres muchachos que Dios los proteja
Now if the brothers had really thought it out properly, meaning that if everything they said was true about the abuse, child abuse as kids daddy touching them mum touching them, then all they needed to do is say the dad had the knife & mum as well lyle and eric got a knife to defend themselves and then the parents tried to use knife's to attack the brothers, then they would be free right now, due to self defence full stop.
Thats how stupid they are and ( buying shotguns to kill your parents) will rot in jail for the rest of their life's full stop. god bless the parents, trying to provide the best for their kids. 😥😥😢😢🦘🦘👌👌🙏🙏🙏🙏👍👍
"Bless the parents"??? Are you seriously defending child mol*sters??? You're probably into that stuff smh. You people are sick! Get some help smh
Bless who? Their abusive parents? My gosh
Such spoiled brats