More than just a murder – The Tack Online

The Menendez murders have been described as one of the country’s most high-profile cases. Two brothers, Erik and Lyle Menendez, were sentenced to life in prison in 1996 for the 1989 murders of their parents, Kitty and Jose Menendez. Now, after almost 35 years, I believe they are at large for the following reasons.

Well, murder is wrong, there’s no way around it. But the details of this case provide a better understanding of what may have been the real motive for the Menendez brothers killing their parents in 1989. In 1993, Erik and Lyle Menendez had their first trial. During this trial, it was detailed how the brothers’ personal lives were brought up and described as sexual, emotional and physical abuse. According to an article in Biography, prosecutors argued that the brothers were after their parents’ inheritance. This claim was supported by evidence that both brothers spent $700,000 of the $14 million they inherited from their father’s estate. On the defense side, both Lyle and Erik claimed they were acting in self-defense and presented evidence of sexual abuse testimony. The article also talks about the brothers and how the abuse began: “Lyle aged six to eight and Erik aged six to eighteen, a claim full of graphic descriptions that shocked the nation and divided friends and family members.”

During the many days of testimony in the first trial, Lyle claimed that he had confronted his father, Jose, about sexually assaulting Erik just days before the murders. The defense also claimed that her mother, Kitty, struggled with substance abuse and was aware of Jose and his affairs. After this testimony and evidence was presented, the jury had to deliberate on two different verdicts: voluntary manslaughter or first-degree murder. After weeks of deliberations, the jury was deadlocked. Deadlocked or empty jurors mean that the jury cannot reach a unanimous verdict. This resulted in a mistrial.

As for the mistrial, the jury was evenly split, according to an article in Newsweek. The twelve jurors included six women and six men. The women believed the brothers’ rape allegations, but the men did not. It is important to recognize that the year was 1993. Americans could not yet understand that men could be raped. This was something that people just couldn’t understand at the time. The juror, Hazel Thornton, discussed how the deliberations went. She talked about how people assumed the women voted based on their emotions and were “in love with the brothers and that they were too stupid to understand the jury’s instructions.” She explained that it was the male jurors who were more emotional during the vote, “pounding on the table, calling us names and trying to get us to vote their way.” She continued: “I thought the women were far more logical than the men. (The male jurors) simply did not believe that a man could sexually abuse his teenage sons.”

The Menendez case was a turning point in the discussion about the sexual abuse that occurs to boys and men. It took decades for people in America to come forward and start talking about this hard truth. An article from the National Institutes of Health states: “Sarrel and Masters (1982) found that men can respond sexually in disturbed emotional states, including anger and terror, despite the trauma associated with rape.” A psychological factor that plays a role in the Menendez case because they were pressured into killing their parents after years of abuse. The article goes on to say: “In Western countries such as the UK, US and Nordic countries, the prevalence of rape or sexual assault between men is estimated to be between 5 and 10% of all sexual assaults per year.” Since it is a Although the percentage is small, this percentage should not be overlooked as the reports come from men.

In the Netflix documentary “The Menendez Brothers,” the real Erik Menendez said, “I think it’s important that the seriousness of my crime not be diminished or minimized.” So yes, the Menendez brothers committed the murder of their parents Kitty and Jose, due to the psychological impact that the sexual, physical and emotional abuse caused year after year. Now, 35 years later, they have paid their price and should be released.