“We owe it to those little boys who lost their childhoods, who never had a chance to be heard, helped or saved,” the SKIMS founder said:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(749x0:751x2):format(webp)/Kim-Kardashian-and-Menendez-brothers-100324-1ef52b612c514218ad6e8de906baf073.jpg)
Kim Kardashian does not believe the Menendez brothers deserve life in prison.
In an essay for NBC News published on Thursday, Oct. 3, the reality star and social justice advocate, 43, expressed her support for Lyle and Erik Menendez.
Now 56 and 53 years old respectively, Lyle and Erik were just 21 and 18 when they made headlines for the 1996 murder of their parents, José and Kitty. Their case has received a renewed public interest following Ryan Murphy‘s latest installment in the Monster anthology.
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“We are all products of our experiences. They shape who we were, who we are, and who we will be. Physiologically and psychologically, time changes us, and I doubt anyone would claim to be the same person they were at 18. I know I’m not!” Kardashian began in the lengthy essay.
The KKW Beauty founder went on to share how the brothers were allegedly “sexually, physically and emotionally abused for years by their parents,” noting that Erik claimed to be just 6 years old when his father allegedly began raping him.
According to Kardashian, though the siblings’ first trial ended in a mistrial — after family members testified and “over half of the 24 jurors voted not guilty on the murder charges” — another huge case may have changed the course.
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“Eight days after [O.J.] Simpson’s acquittal, opening arguments began in Erik and Lyle’s second trial. However, this time, the judge had changed the rules,” she wrote. Kardashian’s late father, Robert Kardashian Sr., was one of the defense attorneys in Simpson’s trial.
“Both brothers were tried together before a single jury, much of the abuse evidence was deemed inadmissible, and manslaughter was no longer an option. Some witnesses from the first trial were barred from testifying about the alleged abuse, depriving the jurors of crucial evidence. The prosecutor, having successfully argued to exclude the abuse testimony, mocked the brothers’ defense during his closing arguments for not producing any evidence of abuse,” Kardashian continued.
With the first trial being televised, she claimed “Erik and Lyle’s case became entertainment for the nation, their suffering and stories of abuse ridiculed in skits on Saturday Night Live. The media turned the brothers into monsters and sensationalized eye candy — two arrogant, rich kids from Beverly Hills who killed their parents out of greed.”
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Kardashian said they lacked “a fair trial.”
“Back then, there were limited resources for victims of sexual abuse, particularly for boys,” she wrote. “Can anyone honestly deny that the justice system would have treated the Menendez sisters more leniently?”
“I have spent time with Lyle and Erik; they are not monsters,” Kardashian said, referring to them as “kind” and “honest men” who “both have exemplary disciplinary records.”
The Kardashians star also referenced her recent visit to the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility where the Menendez brothers are housed, saying, “One of the wardens told me he would feel comfortable having them as neighbors.”
“The killings are not excusable. I want to make that clear. Nor is their behavior before, during or after the crime. But we should not deny who they are today in their 50s,” she wrote.
“We owe it to those little boys who lost their childhoods, who never had a chance to be heard, helped or saved,” Kardashian concluded.