More than a dozen family members of the Menendez brothers gathered outside the downtown Los Angeles criminal courts building Wednesday and called for the resentencing and early release of the two convicted killers.
The show of support for Lyle and Erik Menendez follows a decision announced earlier this month by L.A. County District Attorney George Gascón to review their murder case. The brothers have long said they were sexually abused by their father.
Anamaria Baralt, a cousin of the brothers, introduced a coalition called “Justice for Erik and Lyle” and described the brothers as victims of a system that would not hear them and a culture that was not ready to listen.
“They would be mocked,” Baralt said. “They would be called cold-blooded killers, left to rot in jail and denied any hope of redemption.
“If Lyle and Erik’s case were heard today, with the understanding we now have about abuse and PTSD, there is no doubt in my mind that their sentencing would have been very different.”
Erik Menendez (left) is shown in 2016 and Lyle Menendez in 2018 in photos provided by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
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AP
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Joan Andersen VanderMolen, an aunt of the Menendez brothers, said she struggled for years to come to terms with what happened to her sister’s family. She called it a nightmare none of the family members could…
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