Kim Kardashian Calls for Menendez Brothers to Be Freed: ‘They Are Not Monsters’

Mar. 15, 2025

Kim Kardashian; the Menendez brothers.Photo:Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic; AP Photo/Nick Ut, File

Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic; AP Photo/Nick Ut, File

Kim Kardashiandoes not believe theMenendez brothersdeserve life in prison.

In an essay forNBC Newspublished on Thursday, Oct. 3, the reality star and social justice advocate, 43, expressed her support for Lyle and Erik Menendez.

Now 56 and 53 years old respectively, Lyle and Erik were just 21 and 18 when they made headlines forthe 1996 murder of their parents, José and Kitty. Their case has received a renewed public interest followingRyan Murphy’s latest installment in theMonsteranthology.

Javier Bardem, Cooper Koch, Nicholas Alexander Chavez, Ryan Murphy, and Chloe Sevigny arrive at the Los Angeles Premiere of Netflix’s “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story” at The Egyptian Theatre, Hollywood, on September 16, 2024.Steve Granitz/FilmMagic/Getty Images

Steve Granitz/FilmMagic/Getty Images

“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!” Kardashian began in the lengthy essay.

According to Kardashian, though the siblings' first trial ended in a mistrial — after family members testified and “over half of the 24 jurors voted not guilty on the murder charges” — another huge case may have changed the course.

TRIAL OF BROTHERS LYLE & ERIK MENENDEZ.Ted Soqui/Sygma/Getty

Ted Soqui/Sygma/Getty

“Eight days after [O.J.] Simpson’s acquittal, opening arguments began in Erik and Lyle’s second trial. However, this time, the judge had changed the rules,” she wrote. Kardashian’s late father, Robert Kardashian Sr., wasone of the defense attorneysin Simpson’s trial.

“Both brothers were tried together before a single jury, much of the abuse evidence wasdeemed inadmissible, and manslaughter wasno longer an option. Some witnesses from the first trial were barred from testifying about the alleged abuse, depriving the jurors of crucial evidence. The prosecutor, having successfully argued to exclude the abuse testimony,mocked the brothers’ defenseduring his closing arguments for not producing any evidence of abuse,” Kardashian continued.

With the first trial being televised, she claimed “Erik and Lyle’s case became entertainment for the nation, their suffering and stories of abuse ridiculed in skits onSaturday Night Live. The media turned the brothers into monsters and sensationalized eye candy — two arrogant, rich kids from Beverly Hills who killed their parents out of greed.”

Kim Kardashian, April 2023.Craig Barritt/Getty

Craig Barritt/Getty

Kardashian said they lacked “a fair trial.”

“Back then, there were limited resources for victims of sexual abuse, particularly for boys,” she wrote. “Can anyone honestly deny that the justice system would have treated the Menendezsistersmore leniently?”

“I have spent time with Lyle and Erik; they are not monsters,” Kardashian said, referring to them as “kind” and “honest men” who “both have exemplary disciplinary records.”

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TheKardashiansstar also referenced herrecent visit to the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facilitywhere the Menendez brothers are housed, saying, “One of the wardens told me he would feel comfortable having them as neighbors.”

“The killings are not excusable. I want to make that clear. Nor is their behavior before, during or after the crime. But we should not deny who they are today in their 50s,” she wrote.

“We owe it to those little boys who lost their childhoods, who never had a chance to be heard, helped or saved,” Kardashian concluded.

source: people.com