The Los Angeles District Attorney, George Gascón, has stated that his office is reviewing the case of brothers Lyle and Erik Menendez, who murdered their parents in 1989 and were sentenced to life in prison. During the first trial in 1993, their lawyers argued that the brothers had faced years of sexual abuse at the hands of their father, José Menendez, whose actions were enabled by their mother Kitty. Prosecutors portrayed the brothers as cold-hearted and driven by greed, claiming their actions were motivated by a desire to gain unmonitored access to their parents' $14 million estate. Their first trial drew a televised audience but ended in a mistrial. For the second trial, the judge limited testimony about Jose Menendez’s parenting and banned cameras from the courtroom. The judge also ruled that the “abuse excuse” could not be used as a defense, which only gave jurors the option to sentence the brothers to life in prison, or to let them off entirely. The brothers were found guilty of first-degree murder, sentenced to life in prison. They are currently imprisoned in Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in California.  Following the recent release of Netflix’s ‘Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story,’ interest in the case has intensified, resulting in Gascón receiving many calls to his office discussing the case. "It’s important to recognize that both men and women can be victims of sexual abuse…We have a moral and ethical obligation to review what is being presented to us," said Gascón in a statement.  New evidence has since emerged supporting the abuse claims, with a book by journalist Robert Rand uncovering a letter written by Erik at 17, detailing the sexual abuse by his father. A 2023 docuseries from Peacock detailed new sexual assault allegations against Hollywood executive José by a former member of the Puerto Rican boy band Menudo. The brothers' lawyers argue that in 2024, understanding of sexual abuse has evolved. Erik’s 1993 lawyer, Leslie Abramson, noted the limited awareness of sexual assault against men at that time. Kim Kardashian, who recently visited the brothers in prison, described them as "kind" and said "Back then, there were limited resources for victims of sexual abuse, particularly for boys." 24 of José and Kitty's family members have called for resentencing, saying continued incarceration serves no rehabilitative purpose. However, Kitty’s brother, Milton Andersen, disagrees.

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