’s wife, , is hoping that he is released from prison in time for his next birthday and the upcoming holiday season.
“Only 22 days until Erik’s birthday! Let’s not allow him to spend another birthday, Thanksgiving, or Christmas behind bars. It’s time for someone to step up and do what’s right!” Tammi wrote via X on Tuesday, November 5.
Erik and his brother, , were both convicted of first-degree murder and conspiracy to murder in 1996 for fatally shooting their parents, and , in 1989. The Menendez brothers were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole and are both currently incarcerated in San Diego County, California.
During the brothers’ first trial, which began in 1993, the defense argued that Erik, now 53, and Lyle, now 56, killed their parents in self-defense after years of alleged sexual, emotional and physical abuse. The jury was unable to reach a verdict, resulting in a mistrial. During their second trial, which began in 1995, much of the sexual abuse evidence was excluded.
Erik and Lyle’s case has been back in the spotlight since the fictionalized account of the case Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story premiered on Netflix in September. The brothers’ legal team requested clemency for their clients on October 28, two days after NBC published an essay penned by advocating for Erik and Lyle’s release.
“I have spent time with Lyle and Erik; they are not monsters. They are kind, intelligent, and honest men. In prison, they both have exemplary disciplinary records,” Kardashian, 44, wrote. “When I visited the prison three weeks ago, one of the wardens told me he would feel comfortable having them as neighbors. Twenty-four family members, including their parents’ siblings, have released statements fully supporting Lyle and Erik and have respectfully requested that the justice system free them.”
Kardashian added that Lyle and Erik had “no chance of a fair trial” after their first trial was “televised for all to see” and “much of the abuse evidence was deemed inadmissible” during their second trial.
Ryan Murphy, who cocreated Monsters, recently shared that Kardashian, who is an outspoken proponent of prison reform, reached out to him asking to see the show ahead of its release.
“I said sure, she’s a friend, and she is somebody who’s very into prison reform, and she instantly got involved, and the DA and the governor’s office were flooded with a lot of reactions from people who had big opinions about the show,” Murphy, 58, said during Netflix’s FYC Panel on Saturday, November 2, per The Hollywood Reporter. “When you make something, whether people love it or hate it is beside the point. Does it launch a conversation about something? I think the show definitely did that in a way that [co-creator] [] and I were very proud of.”
While Monsters has undoubtedly brought new attention to Erik and Lyle’s case, that doesn’t mean the brothers appreciated how the show portrayed them.
“I believed we had moved beyond the lies and ruinous character portrayals of Lyle, creating a caricature of Lyle rooted in horrible and blatant likes rampant in the show,” Erik wrote in a statement shared via Lyle’s Facebook Page in September. “I can only believe they were done so on purpose. It is with a heavy heart that I say, I believe Ryan Murphy cannot be this naive and inaccurate about the facts of our lives so as to do this without bad intent.”
Murphy subsequently defended the show and slammed Erik and Lyle’s response.
“We had an obligation to so many people, not just to Erik and Lyle,” he told The Hollywood Reporter last month. “But that’s what I find so fascinating; that they’re playing the victim card right now — ‘poor, pitiful us’ — which I find reprehensible and disgusting.”
Murphy added that the Menendez brothers “should be sending me flowers” due to the increased interest in their story.
“They haven’t had so much attention in 30 years. And it’s gotten the attention of not only this country, but all over the world,” he said. “There’s sort of an outpouring of interest in their lives and in the case. I know for a fact that many people have offered to help them because of the interest of my show and what we did.”
Both Erik and Lyle have gotten married while incarcerated. Erik has been married to Tammi since 1999 while Lyle married in 2003.
Tammi spoke out last month after Los Angeles District Attorney announced his recommendation that Erik and Lyle be resentenced to add the possibility for parole.
“Yesterday was a difficult and emotional day. I am Grateful to DA Gascon for his courage to seek re-sentencing for Erik,” she wrote via X. “I am naturally disappointed he did not go further and act on his own belief that Erik and Lyle have served enough time in prison.”
