Will Erik and Lyle Menendez be released? How Kim Kardashian, Ryan Murphy and social media created 'a perfect storm'

After two trials and three decades in prison, freedom appears to be within reach for Erik and Lyle Menendez as the district attorney considers resentencing.

Nearly two dozen members of the Menendez family hold a news conference outside the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in downtown Los Angeles on Wednesday afternoon. They are joined by prominent attorney Rosie O'Donnell and Erik and Lyle's defense attorney, Mark Geragos. It is unclear whether Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón will be present, who announced Oct. 3 that his office is reviewing the convictions in light of “new evidence” that has prompted a review of the case. Geragos told NBC Los Angeles that they are “cautiously optimistic” about the outcome.

In 1996, Erik and Lyle were convicted of the brutal murder of their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez. They claimed it was self-defense after years of sexual, physical and emotional abuse. The brothers did not deny killing their parents.

The Menendez case has long been a fixture in pop culture, but in September it captured a wider audience thanks to Ryan Murphy's Netflix series Monsters: The Story of Lyle and Erik Menendez. Kim Kardashian only fueled public interest when she called for the brothers' release in an Oct. 3 essay. Netflix's true crime documentary The Menendez brotherswhich features interviews with Erik and Lyle, was released on October 7th. Both Netflix projects have topped the charts.

“We are in a perfect storm to revisit the Menendez case,” said Scott Huver, author of Beverly Hills Noir: Crime, Sin and Scandal in 90210said Yahoo Entertainment.

Here's why: The Menendez case hits a pop culture triad.

Huver, who began his career as a crime reporter in Beverly Hills and is now a veteran entertainment journalist, points to '90s nostalgia, social media and the Murphy-Kardashian one-two punch for renewing interest in the case.

“The trials were a big part of the experience of people growing up in the '90s,” he says, pointing to the introduction of cable television channels like Court TV (1991) and syndicated tabloid shows (1989). Inside Edition) for ongoing reporting on the case. “In the 90s we were a tabloid nation. (The case) was everywhere – on everyone's lips Saturday Night Live be faked, Tonight's show Monologues.

Huver said the reporting “set the stage for the true crime culture we live in today.”

“It was such a thrilling case that these two seemingly spoiled and privileged brothers committed the most horrific crime imaginable – the killing of their own parents – and did it in Beverly Hills, which added rocket fuel to the story. “That was in the heyday of Beverly Hills’ rise as a glamor capital,” he explained.

The first trial of Erik and Lyle in 1994 resulted in two jurors being deadlocked, one for each brother, because the jury could not agree on the manslaughter or murder charges. Female jurors believed the self-defense argument and wanted the lesser charge of manslaughter, while male jurors did not. A mistrial was declared. The brothers were retried, convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. Certain statements about the alleged abuse were not admissible in the retrial.

“There was a lot of interest in the case on social media and in TikTok culture,” said Huver, who covered the second trial. “The younger generation is much more socially conscious than perhaps previous generations and is definitely more forgiving when they see mitigating factors such as possible sexual abuse.”

A new generation was introduced to the Menendez case when Court TV rebroadcast episodes of the first trial during the pandemic. A movement calling for Erik and Lyle's release was started on TikTok and other social media platforms. Then Murphy came with a Kardashian template.

Murphy set “the gold standard” for scripted true crime series after 2016 The People vs. OJ Simpson: American Crime Story, That's why his projects will always attract an audience, explains Huver. Then there's Kardashian, superstar and daughter of famed Simpson lawyer Robert Kardashian, whose passion for prison reform led her to visit the Menendez brothers in prison in September. Kardashian starred in Murphy's American Horror Story: Delicate and they meet again for a new legal drama.

“This is a sensation,” said Huver. “I was at the (Menendez) house just two days ago and the entire time I was there there was a constant stream of people filming the house, probably all people under 30 doing their TikToks or just doing it wanted to see.” I think that was reinforced by Kim Kardashian's interest in the case.

Huver is thinking about release Monster came at the perfect moment to “ignite things that have been brewing on social media for (years).”

In September, Kardashian visited the correctional facility where Erik and Lyle are being held, where she spoke about prison reform. Nearly two years later, she wrote an essay for NBC News in which she declared, “They are not monsters.”

“They are kind, intelligent and honest men. They both have an exemplary disciplinary record in prison. They have earned multiple college degrees, worked as hospice caregivers for elderly incarcerated people, and served as mentors in college programs – committed to giving back to others,” she wrote. “24 family members, including their parents’ siblings, have released statements fully supporting Lyle and Erik and have respectfully requested that the justice system release them.”

Kardashian called for a “review” of her life sentences.

Murphy told The Hollywood Reporter that the Menendez brothers “should send me flowers” because there was “overflowing interest” in their lives. The Menendez family criticized some of Murphy's show's content, which the series creator mocked.

“They haven't received this much attention in 30 years. And it has captured the attention of not only this country but the world,” Murphy said. “The interest in her life and in the case is, so to speak, overwhelming. I know for a fact that a lot of people offered to help because my show and what we did was so interesting.”

Of the series, Murphy added, “There's no world we live in where the Menendez brothers or their wives or lawyers would say, 'You know what, that was a wonderful, accurate portrayal of our clients.' That was never going to happen and I had no interest in it happening.