# The Menendez Murder Case Revisited **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [September 20, 2000, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-menendez-murder-case-revisited/33874 "2000-09-20T15:01:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2024, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-menendez-murder-case-revisited/33874/21 "2024-10-25T17:12:14Z")
There might be some political support and campaign money involved. Seems like a losing decision to me. He could have waited until after the election. It’s California though… who knows what they’ll do. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2024, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-menendez-murder-case-revisited/33874/22 "2024-10-30T22:07:00Z")
I find this surprising: > **[Menendez brothers latest: LA DA to petition Gov. Newsom for clemency](https://abcnews.go.com/US/menendez-brothers-latest-la-da-petition-gov-newsom/story?id=115327276)** > > Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón is supporting the Menendez brothers' new effort to petition California Gov. Gavin Newsom for clemency ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2024, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-menendez-murder-case-revisited/33874/23 "2024-11-08T00:00:35Z")
> **[Incoming Los Angeles County district attorney could ask to delay Menendez...](https://www.cnn.com/2024/11/06/us/erik-lyle-menendez-brothers-resentencing-new-district-attorney/index.html)** > > Nathan Hochman, who defeated incumbent George Gascón in Tuesday’s election to become the next Los Angeles County district attorney, told CNN he could ask to delay a hearing to have Erik and Lyle Menendez resentenced nearly 30 years after their... ---
**Author:** ![mozchron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@mozchron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mozchron)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2024, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-menendez-murder-case-revisited/33874/24 "2024-11-12T13:18:58Z")
One of my relatives was on the jury for the second Menendez trial (the one where they were comvicted). He didn’t talk about it much other than to say they were guilty as hell. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2025, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-menendez-murder-case-revisited/33874/25 "2025-05-14T05:11:18Z")
> **[Judge reduces Menendez brothers' murder sentences, putting them a step closer...](https://apnews.com/article/menendez-brothers-resentencing-freedom-murder-95d642ef10b6d726d84c6f02a20a378c)** > > Erik and Lyle Menendez will have a new shot at freedom after 35 years behind bars for murdering their parents. > The ruling from Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic reduced the brothers’ sentences from life in prison without parole to 50 years to life, making them immediately eligible for parole. The state parole board must decide whether to release them. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2025, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-menendez-murder-case-revisited/33874/26 "2025-08-19T13:53:53Z")
> **[Menendez brothers to be evaluated by parole board for release after 30 years...](https://apnews.com/article/menendez-brothers-parole-hearing-a17f74644b52bbe7c1d1a4157eaab3a0)** > > The Menendez brothers are set to make their cases for parole this week. The California state parole board will determine whether they should be released after serving almost 30 years in prison for murdering their parents. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2025, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-menendez-murder-case-revisited/33874/27 "2025-08-22T03:19:09Z")
> **[California parole board denies release for Erik Menendez due to misbehavior...](https://apnews.com/article/menendez-brothers-freedom-murder-parole-erik-lyle-483fee4506e2ea7acb7ce846e844bb8b)** > > Erik Menendez has been denied parole by a panel of California commissioners. The two commissioners determined Thursday that Menendez should not be freed after serving decades in prison for murdering his parents in 1989 with his older brother, Lyle... He can try again in three years. A parole hearing for his brother Lyle Menendez, who is being held at the same prison in San Diego, is scheduled for Friday morning. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2025, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-menendez-murder-case-revisited/33874/28 "2025-08-23T12:40:34Z")
> Despite each receiving three-year denials, they will be eligible to request an administrative review in one year. If granted, they could appear before the parole board again as early as 18 months from now. > **[The Menendez brothers were denied parole. They have to wait at least 18...](https://apnews.com/article/menendez-brothers-parole-denied-hearings-takeaways-2020fb4a0abfea1eb0dbfc4f0fa76f53)** > > Erik and Lyle Menendez have both been denied parole by a California board after decades in prison for killing their parents in 1989 at their Beverly Hills mansion. I wonder how successful they will be then. ---
**Author:** ![NotEncinoMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/91b2a8/32.png) [@NotEncinoMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NotEncinoMan)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2025, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-menendez-murder-case-revisited/33874/29 "2025-08-23T13:12:22Z")
As long as they aren’t at risk of reoffending, it seems fair to release them. Obviously with the condition that nobody can adopt them, to cut the risk to zero ---
**Author:** ![Dissonance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85f322/32.png) [@Dissonance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dissonance)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2025, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-menendez-murder-case-revisited/33874/30 "2025-08-23T16:19:06Z")
Tries to avoid making the obvious joke. Fails. They could try asking for leniency since they’re orphans ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2025, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-menendez-murder-case-revisited/33874/31 "2025-08-23T18:54:58Z")
> [@NotEncinoMan](#): > > As long as they aren’t at risk of reoffending, it seems fair to release them. > > Obviously with the condition that nobody can adopt them, to cut the risk to zero Comment from parole commissioner re denial of parole for Lyle Menendez: “You have been a model inmate in many ways who has demonstrated the potential for change,” Garland told him at his first-ever parole hearing. “But despite all those outward positives, we see … you still struggle with anti-social personality traits like deception, minimization and rule-breaking that lie beneath that positive surface.” Isn’t it well-known that sociopaths are often “model” citizens in the controlled environment of prison? I’d be more concerned about that than their having unauthorized cellphones. Curious that a family statement emphasizes their “remorse” for crimes they have claimed were fully justified. ---
**Author:** ![rsat3acr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@rsat3acr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rsat3acr)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2025, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-menendez-murder-case-revisited/33874/32 "2025-08-24T01:10:08Z")
I’m sorry @NotEncinoMan, I do not agree with if they are not at risk of reoffending, it seems fair to release them. One could take that to the extreme and say most people who kill a spouse, parent, child, sibling etc are not at risk of killing again so just release them. For that matter since they aren’t likely to kill again, why incarcerate them in the first place? Find them guilty and set them free. Killing in self defense is one thing, planning a murder for past offenses is something different. ---
**Author:** ![Cmyers1980](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyers1980/32/11814_2.png) [@Cmyers1980](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cmyers1980)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2025, 10:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-menendez-murder-case-revisited/33874/33 "2025-08-27T10:42:12Z")
> [@rsat3acr](#): > > say most people who kill a spouse, parent, child, sibling etc are not at risk of killing again so just release them. I believe murder has one of the lowest recidivism rates for this reason. Most murders are circumstantial or driven by emotion. There are very few Bundys, Dahmers, Chases, etc. who kill for its own sake or can’t stop doing so. ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/779978/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats2)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2025, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-menendez-murder-case-revisited/33874/34 "2025-08-27T11:30:32Z")
I remember when the killings happened. Those poor boys. I remember when they met the police in the driveway at the scene, hands raised, giving themselves up, weeping about how their father had been raping them for years and threatening them with death if they spoke up or moved away, and how they were so sorry about their mom, but she was there, and things just got out of hand… Oh wait, no, they just blamed their dad’s supposed organized crime friends, and immediately went on a huge spending spree with daddy’s cash. Those poor boys. In jail for all these years. Not enough years. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2025, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-menendez-murder-case-revisited/33874/35 "2025-08-27T23:43:30Z")
> [@rsat3acr](#): > > I’m sorry @NotEncinoMan, I do not agree with if they are not at risk of reoffending, it seems fair to release them. One could take that to the extreme and say most people who kill a spouse, parent, child, sibling etc are not at risk of killing again so just release them. Yeah, people who murder family members can be counted on [to live spotless lives afterwards](https://www.aetv.com/real-crime/ed-kemper-hospital-release). ---
**Author:** ![Cmyers1980](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyers1980/32/11814_2.png) [@Cmyers1980](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cmyers1980)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2025, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-menendez-murder-case-revisited/33874/36 "2025-09-01T11:49:41Z")
Kemper was a psychopath that had violent fantasies years before he killed his grandparents and an exception to the rule. The simple fact is that most murderers don’t commit more murders after being released from prison. It actually has one of the lowest recidivism rates of any major crime. Most murderers (and criminals as a whole) are roughly normal people, not bloodthirsty psychopaths and psychotics who can’t help but kill again and again. ---
**Author:** ![Dissonance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85f322/32.png) [@Dissonance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dissonance)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2025, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-menendez-murder-case-revisited/33874/37 "2025-09-01T22:02:21Z")
> [@Cmyers1980](#): > > The simple fact is that most murderers don’t commit more murders after being released from prison. It actually has one of the lowest recidivism rates of any major crime. It also has the longest sentencing of any major crime, which plays a large part in why recidivism is so low. Most people who commit murder in their late teens or early 20s won’t commit murder again when they are released in their 50s or 60s. That’s hardly a justification for immediate release of murders and is in fact a point in favor of the role of incapacitation in prison sentencing, i.e. the purpose of keeping dangerous criminals isolated from the public. The recidivism rate for all crimes drops heavily once offenders are no longer young or middle aged. And that’s not even touching on retribution being one of the accepted purposes in prison sentencing, along with deterrence, incapacitation and rehabilitation. ---
**Author:** ![Cmyers1980](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyers1980/32/11814_2.png) [@Cmyers1980](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cmyers1980)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2025, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-menendez-murder-case-revisited/33874/38 "2025-09-01T22:57:54Z")
> [@Dissonance](#): > > hardly a justification for immediate release of murders You’re right. I never said anything about immediately releasing murderers from prison. ---
**Author:** ![Dissonance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85f322/32.png) [@Dissonance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dissonance)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2025, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-menendez-murder-case-revisited/33874/39 "2025-09-01T23:51:44Z")
Yeah, you pretty much did: > [@Cmyers1980](#): > > They should be freed as soon as they’re rehabilitated. and > [@Cmyers1980](#): > > It actually has one of the lowest recidivism rates of any major crime. Most murderers (and criminals as a whole) are roughly normal people, not bloodthirsty psychopaths and psychotics who can’t help but kill again and again. Without taking into consideration why the recidivism rate for murder is so low. People convicted of murder aren’t being released after a couple of years in prison to rehabilitate them. They’re being released as old men. ---
**Author:** ![NotEncinoMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/91b2a8/32.png) [@NotEncinoMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NotEncinoMan)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2025, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-menendez-murder-case-revisited/33874/40 "2025-09-02T21:16:58Z")
Perhaps they could be released but then have to complete a Bruster’s Millions style challenge to spend a large amount of money in a short time and without holding any assets at the end. This would keep them busy on first release, allow them opertunity to socialise and learn modern financial systems And after all that forced spending, they’d probably be sick of money, like a child who sneaks a cigarette being punished by having to smoke an entire pack. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-menendez-murder-case-revisited/33874.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-menendez-murder-case-revisited/33874.md?page=3)