August 19, 2025

In the early 1990s, the Menendez brothers were a laughingstock. The media brushed off their claims of sex abuse by their father as an excuse for offing their parents after they were caught. Their first jury was not so cynical, deadlocking on whether they had acted in self-defense. A second trial was practically rigged against them, excluding most of the evidence of abuse. In recent years, from Netflix to TikTok, the brothers have received far more sympathetic treatment. This week, something of a third trial will take place when California’s parole board will hear Lyle and Erik testify for the first time ever. Their attorneys tell journalist and law professor Lara Bazelon that the brothers are prepared to admit that they lied to authorities following the murders. That might not sound like it would help them get out of prison, but as Lara discovered over the past three months of reporting, the board will have to believe they are honest about what happened one night in Beverly Hills 36 years ago. Helping them is new evidence that they were abused. Prosecutors have their own argument — pointing to the meticulous planning before the murders and Rolex and Porsche shopping after — that the brothers are dishonest and dangerous. Who will prevail?  
—Justin Miller, deputy editor, Intelligencer

By Lara Bazelon

Photo-Illustration: Intelligencer; Photos: AP Photos, Mega

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