‘Not the Villains’: Menendez Family Makes Tearful Plea for Brothers’ Freedom
Erik and Lyle Menendez’s family made a tearful plea Wednesday for their freedom, insisting the imprisoned brothers protected themselves “the only way they knew how” when they blasted their parents to death in 1989.
Nearly two dozen family members made a show of unity at a press conference ahead of L.A. prosecutors’ anticipated recommendation next month on whether to re-sentence the brothers, who have been behind bars for nearly 35 years.
“The truth is, Lyle and Erik were failed by the very people who should have protected them—by their parents, by the system and by society at large,” said Joan VanderMolen, sister of the brothers’ mother, Kitty Menendez, outside of L.A. Country criminal courthouse.