Kim Kardashian became an advocate for two convicted murderers after watching the new Netflix series Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.
The influencer, 44, said the decision to resentence the brothers after almost 35 years behind bars “gave a second chance” to the men convicted of killing their parents.
Ryan Murphy, 58, who created the show, explained the Kardashian star’s role in helping men get the chance to be free.
“Kim Kardashian called me a month before the show came out (September 21) and asked to watch it, and I said ‘sure,'” the six-time Emmy winner said, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
“She’s a friend and someone who is very interested in prison reform and she got involved immediately,” he explained.
Kim Kardashian, 44, became an advocate for two convicted murderers after watching the new Netflix series Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, according to the show’s creator Ryan Murphy (pictured in New York City in September).
After viewers watched the series, which examines the events leading up to the August 1989 murder of Kitty and José Menéndez in their Beverly Hills home, they, too, began contacting California authorities.
“The prosecutor’s office and the governor’s office were inundated with a lot of reactions from people who had great opinions about the show,” Murphy said on a panel at Netflix’s FYC event on Saturday, Nov. 2 in Los Angeles.
“That was always the purpose of the show, to show different complicated points of view,” Murphy said.
“I really thought what he did in raising and asking questions about sexual abuse was very, very powerful.” The brothers’ defense argued that they had been victims of sexual abuse by their father.
His first trial ended with a deadlocked jury. They were convicted and sentenced to life in prison without parole after a second trial.
“I think, whether I like it or not,” Murphy said, “there is a movement of young people who want to talk about it in a way that wasn’t available in 1989.”
“Whether you believe them or not is beside the point,” the executive producer said, explaining that he wanted the series to “start a conversation about that topic.”
“And people were really drawn to it and a lot of people got involved and made their opinions known after watching the show, which was very, very interesting.”
Erik and Lyle Méndez were sentenced to life in prison for the 1989 murder of their parents Kitty and José Menéndez in their Beverly Hills home. The brothers have spent nearly 35 years behind bars following their conviction in 1996.
“Kim Kardashian called me a month before the show came out (September 21) and asked to watch it, and I said ‘sure,'” show creator Ryan Murphy explained at Netflix’s FYC event in Los Angeles on Saturday, according to The Hollywood Reporter. (Pictured in New York City in September)
The Kardashian star ended up meeting with the Menendez brothers and writing an essay calling for their release from prison (pictured in New York City in September).
Kardashian even went so far as to write an essay asking for the release of the brothers.
‘I’ve spent time with Lyle and Erik; “They are not monsters,” he wrote. “They are kind, intelligent and honest men.”
‘In prison, both have exemplary disciplinary records. They earned multiple college degrees, worked as caregivers for incarcerated seniors in hospice care, and served as mentors in college programs, committed to giving back to others.’
Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón has said he would recommend a new sentence of 50 years to life in prison, which would allow them to be paroled as youthful offenders. Erik was 18 and Lyle was 21 at the time the crimes were committed.
Kardashian even wrote an essay calling for the brothers’ release. ‘I’ve spent time with Lyle and Erik; “They are not monsters,” he wrote. “They are kind, intelligent and honest men.” A resentencing hearing is scheduled for December
If the judge agrees with Gascón’s recommendation at the Dec. 11 hearing, the next step is a hearing before the California Parole Board. A decision could take up to six months, depending CBS affiliate KFMB.
If the Parole Board rules in favor of release, the matter would go to the desk of California Governor Gavin Newsom, who will have up to 150 days to decide.
Another possibility is a habeas corpus proceeding scheduled for November 26. During that hearing, Menendez’s attorneys will argue that a letter to a cousin detailing sexual abuse before the murders should be considered evidence, along with a sworn statement from former Roy Rosselló that José Menéndez raped him.
The defense team also submitted a clemency petition to Governor Newsom.
