{"id":116058,"date":"2024-10-19T19:54:11","date_gmt":"2024-10-19T12:54:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=116058"},"modified":"2024-10-19T19:54:11","modified_gmt":"2024-10-19T12:54:11","slug":"inside-the-growing-campaign-to-free-the-menendez-brothers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=116058","title":{"rendered":"Inside the growing campaign to free the Menendez Brothers"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\r\n     data-ad-layout-key=\"-fb+5w+4e-db+86\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"7910942971\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>You meet the most interesting people in solitary confinement.<\/p>\n<p>For former New York <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2021\/05\/15\/rudy-giuliani-makes-up-with-mob-rival-in-chummy-radio-chat\/\">mobster Michael Franzese<\/a>, in prison on a parole violation, those people happened to be Erik and Lyle Menendez, encountered while serving time in a Los Angeles County federal correctional institution.<\/p>\n<p>Notorious for having killed their parents \u2013 including father Jose, a big shot in show business who they claim sexually abused them \u2013 the Menendez Brothers were in the midst of their matching 1996 life sentences without parole.\u00a0Since 2018, years after meeting Franzese, they have been in Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in Southern California.<\/p>\n<p>But they not be locked up for long. There is now a movement afoot for them to have <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2024\/10\/16\/us-news\/family-of-lyle-erik-menendez-call-for-killer-brothers-to-be-resentenced-after-30-years-behind-bars-for-parents-murder\/\">those sentences shortened<\/a> and for them to be released. It was energized by the Ryan Murphy produced Netflix biographical series \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/2024\/10\/18\/celebrity-news\/monsters-star-cooper-koch-explains-why-he-wears-wedding-ring\/?_gl=1*bluf6f*_ga*ODk0MTMyMzI4LjE3Mjg0MjU3ODg.*_ga_0DZ7LHF5PZ*MTcyOTI4OTA3OS4xNi4xLjE3MjkyODkxODcuMjYuMC4w\">Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><figcaption>The cast of \u201cMonsters\u201d \u2014 Nicholas Chavez, Chloe Sevigny, Javier Bardem and Cooper Koch \u2014 who acted in a movie that may play a key role in getting the Menendez brothers sprung. <span class=\"credit\">COURTESY OF NETFLIX<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Erik and Lyle Menendez in their most recent prison mug shot.  <span class=\"credit\">CDCR\/MEGA<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Dropped this past September, it tells the tale of the murderous brothers, their alleged sexual predator of a father Jose and their laissez faire mother Kitty. Franzese gave it a rave on his YouTube channel and also stated the brothers \u201cdid enough time.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Franzese arrives at this opinion via firsthand knowledge. \u201cLyle opened up to me and told me about the abuse,\u201d Franzese told The Post. \u201cI asked him a lot of questions. I have a good BS detector, and I believe that they were abused by their father.\u201d<\/p>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module aligncenter wp-block-nypost-editor-primary-tag\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>That said, he remembers something strange that came out of Lyle\u2019s mouth in anticipation of not dying behind bars: \u201cI\u2019ll never forget him telling me that [if he gets released from prison] \u2018I don\u2019t know what I\u2019m going to do without my father.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Despite everything, Franzese added, \u201cThey were so dependent on him. [Lyle] always expressed love for his father \u2014 even though there was the abuse from his father. He said he lived in fear of him. But he was so much a force in his life.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>George Gasc\u00f3n, district attorney for Los Angeles County, is open to reconsidering the brothers\u2019 life without parole prison term. <span class=\"credit\">REUTERS<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Now, the former mobster is among a varied cadre of actors, relatives, influencers and others rallying for early release of the brothers. Kim Kardashian, <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2024\/10\/07\/entertainment\/rosie-odonnell-formed-bond-with-menendez-brothers-after-barbara-walters-warning\/\">Rosie O\u2019Donnell<\/a>, the rapper Anerae \u201cX-Raided\u201d Brown and a couple dozen relatives have all stepped up to rally for reconsideration of lifetime incarceration.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Los Angeles County\u2019\u2019s embattled district attorney George Gasc\u00f3n \u2013 amid whispers the ultra-liberal DA is desperate for a public comeback as he face challenges to reelection in November\u00a0\u2013 announced he would review the sentences of Lyle and Erik and decide on whether or not reconsideration is justified.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Erik and Lyle Menendez in front of the Beverly Hills home in which the grew up and murdered their parents.  <span class=\"credit\">Los Angeles Times via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Lyle and Erik Menendez wearing jailhouse clothing in a Santa Monica court room. <span class=\"credit\">ASSOCIATED PRESS<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>He briefly posted and quickly deleted a screenshot of <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2024\/10\/16\/us-news\/la-da-shares-then-quickly-deletes-bombshell-note-written-by-erik-menendez-that-may-prove-dad-sexually-abused-brothers\/\">a letter from Erik to his cousin<\/a>, uncovered by Robert Rand, who wrote a nonfiction book about the brothers\u2019 murders. \u201cI\u2019ve been trying to avoid dad,\u201d the letter stated. \u201cEvery night I stay up thinking he might come in.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It is believed by some to offer proof of the alleged molestations.<\/p>\n<p>The brothers have been imprisoned since 1990, convicted of first-degree murder for parricide \u2013 murder of their parents in 1989. They claimed Jose sexually abused them while mother Kitty stood by in silence. Roy\u00a0Rossell\u00f3, of the boy band Menudo, made similar claims against Jose in the years since they were convicted.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Erik and Lyle maintained the dual killings, which they have admitted to carrying out were in self-defense, as they claim their parents would have killed them to stop them exposing their father.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Anerae \u201cX-Raided\u201d Brown in the prison yard with Lyle Menendez. Brown is a big booster for the brothers to go free. <span class=\"credit\">ZUMAPRESS.com<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>For years, the Menendez brothers were pretty much a punchline, and the likelihood of them seeing the light of day seemed remote. Then <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2024\/09\/27\/entertainment\/ryan-murphy-monsters-is-best-thing-for-menendez-brothers\/\">Ryan Murphy did the Netflix series<\/a> covering the alleged sexual abuse, murders and two trials \u2013 the first being declared a mistrial.<\/p>\n<p>The series was <a href=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/2024\/tv\/reviews\/menendez-brothers-netflix-series-review-monsters-1236150885\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">panned in Variety<\/a> and the brothers hated it, insisting it is \u201chorrible\u201d and \u201cfilled with blatant lies,\u201d particularly objecting to scenes which hint the brothers had an incestuous relationship.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Murphy responded, \u201cIt\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2024\/09\/24\/entertainment\/ryan-murphy-responds-to-erik-menendezs-criticism-of-monsters\/\">really, really hard<\/a> \u2013 if it\u2019s your life \u2013 to see your life up on screen.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But then something unexpected happened. \u201cYounger people saw it and were so outraged by the characterization,\u201d Lyle and Erik\u2019s lawyer Mark Geragos told The Post. \u201cThe Ryan Murphy thing created a backlash that was really helpful. To that extent, when Ryan Murphy says, \u2018I\u2019m the best thing that ever happened to them,\u2019 it\u2019s because he was so over the top. It\u2019s so outrageous that I think the backlash helped.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Mark Geragos, attorney for the Menendez brothers ,is hoping that the reconsideration from the DA will lead to his clients getting sprung.  <span class=\"credit\">APEX \/ MEGA<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Much as Franzese highly regarded Lyle and Erik, he had no respect for their post-murder\u00a0behavior \u2013 particularly a luxe shopping spree that had them spending their dead parents\u2019 money on Rolex watches and a Porsche \u2013 which was said to have shown a lack of grief that put law enforcement on their trail.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI can tell you that those guys were not real criminals \u2026 they were amateurs,\u201d said Franzese. \u201cThey didn\u2019t act properly after this whole thing was done. I mean they went out and bought a car! They should have been doing the opposite.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Since the series dropped the brothers have also captured the interest of reality star turned <a href=\"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/2024\/10\/03\/celebrity-news\/kim-kardashian-argues-the-menendez-brothers-should-be-freed\/?_gl=1*qc5bfl*_ga*ODk0MTMyMzI4LjE3Mjg0MjU3ODg.*_ga_0DZ7LHF5PZ*MTcyOTI4OTA3OS4xNi4xLjE3MjkyODk1ODUuNjAuMC4w\">social justice advocate Kim Kardashian<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>She wrote in an essay for NBC, \u201cThey are kind, intelligent and honest men \u2026 My hope is that Erik and Lyle Menendez\u2019s life sentences are reconsidered.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Despite the fact that the Menendez brothers murdered their parents, Kim Kardashian views them as \u201cgentlemen.\u201d <span class=\"credit\">Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Rosie O\u2019Donnell claims to have been penpals with Lyle for 30 years, following a \u201cLarry King Live\u201d appearance. She ignored the advice of Barbara Walters, who warned, \u201cHe\u2019s a murderer. He\u2019s very cunning.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>These days, O\u2019Donnell and Lyle speak frequently on the phone \u2013 his wife, former magazine reporter Rebecca Sneed, made sure they connected on Mother\u2019s Day 2023 \u2013 and she hugs the brothers when she visits them in prison. O\u2019Donnell described herself as a \u201cbig sister\u201d and as a \u201ccheerleader\u201d for their freedom.<\/p>\n<p>The rapper Anerae \u201cX-Raided\u201d Brown has gone public about the brothers encouraging him to take prison classes, enroll in Narcotics Anonymous and to renounce his violent past as a Crips gang member who landed in jail for being involved with a murder.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Mark Geragos hugs Joan Andersen VanderMolen, sister of Kitty Menendez. Joan has been a big advocate for her nephews going free. <span class=\"credit\">APEX \/ MEGA<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cThey have served the time equivalent to the crimes they committed from the perspective of being victims of child abuse, sexual abuse and psychological abuse,\u201d Brown, now free, told The Post. \u201cI very much believe that they have rehabilitated themselves and dozens of other men \u2013 including myself.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Earlier this week, at a <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/video\/watch-live-menendez-brothers-family-news-conference\/\">downtown Los Angeles news conference<\/a>, Menendez family members, young and old, rallied for the release of Lyle and Erik. Joan Andersen VanderMolen, the 92-year-old sister of Kitty, has expressed unflagging empathy for her nephews. \u201cIt became clear,\u201d she said, \u201cthat their actions \u2013 while tragic \u2013 were the desperate response of two boys trying to survive the unspeakable cruel[ty] of their father.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Lyle and Erik Menendez talk discreetly in a Santa Monica court room. <span class=\"credit\">AP<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Mug shots of Erik Menendez from 2000 and 2002. <span class=\"credit\">Kypros via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Though it is unclear what their finances would be like when they leave jail \u2013 \u201cI\u2019ve never asked about it,\u201d said Geragos who believes any leftover family money \u201cis long gone\u201d \u2013 rapper Anerae \u201cX-Raided\u201d Brown has no worries.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey have powerful allies, including myself [who would] find it unacceptable for the Menendez brothers to not be financially secure,\u201d X-Raided said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>But not everybody is willing to write off <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2023\/05\/29\/inside-the-menendez-brothers-divisive-prison-life-as-they-bid-for-freedom\/\">the blood that is on the hands<\/a> of the Menendez brothers. Their uncle, Milton Andersen, Kitty\u2019s 90-year-old brother, would like to see them remain in jail for life. Andersen maintains, according to his attorney Kathy Cady, \u201chis nephews were not molested.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As Cady told Eyewitness News of Andersen, \u201cHe believes <a href=\"https:\/\/abc7.com\/post\/menendez-brothers-uncle-says-should-not-released\/15436935\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">that is a fabrication<\/a> and that the motive was pure greed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Brown acknowledges that \u201cnobody gets to put a cap on the amount of time for which people are hurting,\u201d but he does believe that, out of incarceration, Lyle and Erik Menendez will contribute mightily to society. \u201cThey\u2019ve gotten plenty of time in terms of the crime and the motivation behind it. The brothers\u2019 success and the way they\u2019ll perform in society, <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2024\/10\/14\/entertainment\/gypsy-rose-blanchard-shares-advice-for-the-menendez-brothers\/\">once they are released<\/a>, will justify everything.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\r\n     data-ad-layout-key=\"-fb+5w+4e-db+86\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"7910942971\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><div data-type=\"_mgwidget\" data-widget-id=\"1660802\">\r\n<\/div>\r\n<script>(function(w,q){w[q]=w[q]||[];w[q].push([\"_mgc.load\"])})(window,\"_mgq\");\r\n<\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2024\/10\/19\/us-news\/inside-the-growing-campaign-to-free-the-menendez-brothers\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>You meet the most interesting people in solitary confinement. For former New York mobster Michael Franzese, in prison on a parole violation, those people happened to be Erik and Lyle &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=116058\" class=\"more-link\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-116058","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-entertainment","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116058","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=116058"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116058\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=116058"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=116058"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=116058"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}