CA - Court upholds Menendez brothers' convictions

[Swirlz]

<modsnip> there are a multitude of cases of people walking on self-defense, typically these are battered women's cases, involving the homicides of abusers who are killed in their sleep. <modsnip>

 

[suspicious]

so let me understand, that if someone has been abused by their parents at some time in their lives, using self defense as a defense is appropriate and a "legal defense" because they worried they could be further abused or even killed? that sure gives killers a lot of leeway. For me that is a BS defense. I believe in self defense if a person is in imminent danger--- I know the brothers have stated they felt threatened that particular evening- but was there any evidence that their parents came at them with a gun, a knife or stated " I'm going to kill you" and came after them that particular night? no there isn't. May be they have spent enough time in prison. I watch crime shows all the time where the convicted killer gets paroled after a relatively short period of time. Watching a case now where the killer got 30 years but was paroled after 11 years. The family of the victim is disgusted and appalled as they should be.

Any parent who abuses their child whether be sexually, verbally or physically should have their rights taken away.
You bring a child into this world, you love and protect it.

No one has the right to violate a childs innocence and anyone who does should be taken out of society.

All imo

 

[Seattle1]

Menendez Brothers: Harvey Levin discusses prison interview

Erik and Lyle Menendez gave a rare interview from prison to their attorney, Mark Geragos, and TMZ' Harvey Levin.

www.foxla.com

2/21/25

 

[Seattle1]

https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/21/us/menendez-brothers-sentence-petition-denied/index.html

2/21/25

Hochman filed an informal response to the petition on Friday, urging the Los Angeles County Superior Court to reject it.

The district attorney dismissed the claim that Erik’s letter provides new evidence, accusing the brothers of a “continuum of lies” and saying that the brothers should have been aware of the letter’s existence before trial.

“If this letter truly existed, the defense counsel would have absolutely used it at the trial because it would have helped corroborate … Eric Menendez’s testimony,” Hochman said.

 

[Seattle1]

L.A. DA does not support overturning Menendez brothers' murder convictions

Erik and Lyle Menendez filed a petition in 2023 citing what they described as new evidence that seeks a new trial.

www.nbcnews.com

2/21/25

Hochman said Friday that his office is still reviewing the request but he expects to make a decision in the next two weeks. A two-day hearing on matter is scheduled for March.

 

[Wishbone]

Any parent who abuses their child whether be sexually, verbally or physically should have their rights taken away.
You bring a child into this world, you love and protect it.

No one has the right to violate a childs innocence and anyone who does should be taken out of society.

All imo

It appears the brothers were horribly abused by their father and the mother was aware if not complicit as well. The parents murder was horrible and can't be excused but in this case can be somewhat understood. They were young when they committed the crime and their punishment of life without parole should be thoughtfully reconsidered. JMOO

 

[ilovewings]

Any parent who abuses their child whether be sexually, verbally or physically should have their rights taken away.
You bring a child into this world, you love and protect it.

No one has the right to violate a childs innocence and anyone who does should be taken out of society.

All imo

I agree- but taking them out of society should not include murdering them. Let the justice system take care of those kind of parents (but sadly as we know that does not happen often enough as it should), but murdering them is not the remedy.

 

[ilovewings]

<modsnip> there are a multitude of cases of people walking on self-defense, typically these are battered women's cases, involving the homicides of abusers who are killed in their sleep. <modsnip>

That is true- some of those cases are justified self defense and some are not. I have seen so many women use the abused excuse for killing their partners, it makes me ill: often there isn't a shred of evidence they were abused: the woman gets on the stand, looks demure and soft spoken and tells a sad tale of abuse- when it was not true. Some of course are true--and the woman was so battered over a period of time she could not take it any longer and was in fear for her life so she had enough and killed her partner-abuser.

 

[Noirdame79]

Any parent who abuses their child whether be sexually, verbally or physically should have their rights taken away.
You bring a child into this world, you love and protect it.

No one has the right to violate a childs innocence and anyone who does should be taken out of society.

All imo

Agreed. I also find it frustrating how some people don't see, or don't want to see, that mothers can be cruel to their children, fail to protect them and abuse them sexually, or at least be complicit but unfortunately, it happens. Kay Stayner, mother of Cary and Steven Stayner, is an example of a complicit mother. Her husband, her father, and her brother-in-law were child molesters; she knew this, and did not protect her children. It drives me crazy when people feel sorry for the Stayner parents. Uh no, they don't deserve sympathy. Like Jose and Kitty Menendez, they had no business having children and did not deserve to be parents.

JMO

 

[ilovewings]

Agreed. I also find it frustrating how some people don't see, or don't want to see, that mothers can be cruel to their children, fail to protect them and abuse them sexually, or at least be complicit but unfortunately, it happens. Kay Stayner, mother of Cary and Steven Stayner, is an example of a complicit mother. Her husband, her father, and her brother-in-law were child molesters; she knew this, and did not protect her children. It drives me crazy when people feel sorry for the Stayner parents. Uh no, they don't deserve sympathy. Like Jose and Kitty Menendez, they had no business having children and did not deserve to be parents.

JMO

The issue is not whether they deserved to be parents, the issue is DID THEY DESERVE TO BE MURDERED by their sons at that moment in time--- There are a whole lot of abusive parents that should have never ever had children-- but they did---

 

[Noirdame79]

The issue is not whether they deserved to be parents, the issue is DID THEY DESERVE TO BE MURDERED by their sons at that moment in time--- There are a whole lot of abusive parents that should have never ever had children-- but they did---

It's not about the parents deserving to be killed. The defense never argued that. It was about the brothers fearing for their own safety, and they felt they had no other option. They did love their parents, and they miss them. It's much more complicated than what the media has portrayed.

 

[Gigiky]

No the parents didn't deserve too be murdered. And not all weapons are guns or knifes. There are weapons that are just as destructive. To be a child and to be physically and mentally abused is a horrible weapon to use against a child. Esp. by ones own parents. But there are a lot of people who have been convicted of murder who have not done as much time. And considering what they endured at the hands of the two people who were suppose to protect them and IMO failed miserably. JMO but they have served enough time and should be freed.

 

[Aegon_the_Conqueror]

Their mother was known to be verbally and emotionally abusive, and she treated the cousins who stayed at the house the same way. She didn't protect her sons from their father. Other than the purchase of the guns (which they stated that they bought for protection, and ultimately that cannot be proven or disproven), everything that people point to as premeditation happened after they killed their parents. The parents also owned shotguns, by the way. There was a lot of corroboration that both parents were abusive. Jose Menendez did threaten to kill one of his son's friends, and this was overheard by at least two witnesses. A grown man threatening to kill a teenage boy. The parents were most likely standing when they were shot, and the medical examiner came to that conclusion.

The parents' heads were not blown off. I get that is sometimes said for dramatic effect, but that's not what happened.

Abuse is a mitigating factor; it literally re-wires a person's brain, especially abuse from childhood. That does not mean that the brothers should not have been punished for their actions, but rather that they should have been convicted of a lesser charge - manslaughter. If they had, they would have been free by now.

JMO

I didn't mean that they were literally decapitated. There aren't many firearms that could pull that off.

I didn't say that Kitty wasn't abusive. I just meant that I haven't seen enough evidence/testimony on her being sexually abusive to conclude that she was also a pedo. The verbal and emotional abuse, along with not leaving José to protect the children, is what I meant by a "bad mother". (Kitty was very likely terrified of José as well, making her both a victim and an abuser.) It's very possible that José threatened their lives (I'm just not totally convinced), but I haven't even heard the brothers accuse her of threatening to kill them.

I have no issue with Erik and Lyle - or anyone else, for that matter - purchasing a gun. Buckshot isn't exactly convenient for self-defense, though, but whatever. I get that it wasn't their first choice, either. But they were already feeling threatened by José, and there was a week between buying the guns and the incident. There was ample opportunity to go to the cops during that time. While it would've been difficult, coming out of your bedroom blasting should've been even harder. If it really was a spur-of-the-moment act, it could also count as Murder 1 for extreme cruelty. In this moment, they were definitely the aggressors. José and Kitty might have been gun owners, but at the time they were simply watching TV on the couch.

Again, I do sympathize with them for what they went through up until the killings. If the court finds legal justification to grant them parole, I'll have no issues with that. I just think that the circumstances of the crime make it a tough sell (especially for Kitty), because they couldn't have dealt with their abuse in a more extreme way.

 

[LinasK]

Agreed. I also find it frustrating how some people don't see, or don't want to see, that mothers can be cruel to their children, fail to protect them and abuse them sexually, or at least be complicit but unfortunately, it happens. Kay Stayner, mother of Cary and Steven Stayner, is an example of a complicit mother. Her husband, her father, and her brother-in-law were child molesters; she knew this, and did not protect her children. It drives me crazy when people feel sorry for the Stayner parents. Uh no, they don't deserve sympathy. Like Jose and Kitty Menendez, they had no business having children and did not deserve to be parents.

JMO

I did not know this. That explains alot about the lives of Stephen and Cary. I was actually in Yosemite when Cary was active.

 

[Noirdame79]

I did not know this. That explains alot about the lives of Stephen and Cary. I was actually in Yosemite when Cary was active.

The family secrets were revealed at Cary's trial. It explains why the parents refused to get their children professional help. There's much more to Cary's story too. Many things reported about him in the media are not true. I posted info on both his thread and in Steven's on here if you would like to check it out.

 

[suspicious]

It appears the brothers were horribly abused by their father and the mother was aware if not complicit as well. The parents murder was horrible and can't be excused but in this case can be somewhat understood. They were young when they committed the crime and their punishment of life without parole should be thoughtfully reconsidered. JMOO

Agreed. I dont believe in murder, nor do i believe in the death penalty.
I also dont know how the boys survived. Some kids would kill themsleves… its a pretty horrible situation

 

[Gigiky]

Agreed. I dont believe in murder, nor do i believe in the death penalty.
I also dont know how the boys survived. Some kids would kill themsleves… its a pretty horrible situation

I was thinking the same thing.

 

[Salah11]

It's not about the parents deserving to be killed. The defense never argued that. It was about the brothers fearing for their own safety, and they felt they had no other option. They did love their parents, and they miss them. It's much more complicated than what the media has portrayed.

There is absolutely nothing to suggest they were in any danger than night. They barbarically murdered their parents in the worse way imaginable.

I am still on the fence on if they should be freed as Lisle just comes across as a complete narcissistic.

Moo

 

[ilovewings]

There is absolutely nothing to suggest they were in any danger than night. They barbarically murdered their parents in the worse way imaginable.

I am still on the fence on if they should be freed as Lisle just comes across as a complete narcissistic.

Moo

I'm with you!!!

 

[Swirlz]

They did love their parents, and they miss them.

Stockholm syndrome.