Kim Kardashian is once again using her platform to push for criminal justice reform, this time advocating for the release of Erik and Lyle Menendez , the brothers convicted of murdering their parents in 1989. In an essay penned for NBC News, the reality TV star called for a re-evaluation of their life sentences, arguing that the brothers were victims of long-term abuse and deserve another chance at freedom. "We are all products of our experiences.
They shape who we were, who we are, and who we will be. Physiologically and psychologically, time changes us, and I doubt anyone would claim to be the same person they were at 18. I know I'm not," she said.
Convicted in 1996 of killing their parents, José and Kitty Menendez, in their Beverly Hills home, Erik and Lyle were sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. Advocating for a re-evaluation of their life sentences, Kim argued that the Menendez Brothers are not "monsters". "You think you know the story of Lyle and Erik Menendez.
I certainly thought I did: In 1989, the brothers, aged 21 and 18, respectively, viciously shot and killed their parents in their Beverly Hills home. In 1996, after two trials, they were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. As is often the case, this story is much more complex than it appears on the surface.
Both brothers said they had been sexually, physically and emotionally abused for years by their parents. According to Lyle, the abuse started when he was just 6 ye.