The Washington Post, November 2024
The Menendez brothers are back in the national spotlight nearly 30 years after they were imprisoned for murdering their parents, as new evidence is sparking calls for leniency. The Los Angeles County District Attorney filed a petition last week to resentence Erik and Lyle Menendez, whose 1990s trials were national hot-button stories, and a clemency request was sent to California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday.
The requests demonstrate how vastly attitudes about sexual assault, especially against men, have changed since the 1989 murders, experts say. The petition for resentencing includes two new pieces of evidence, both alluding to ongoing abuse by the father, José Menendez. One is a 1988 letter written by Erik Menendez which attorneys say corroborates the allegations that he was sexually abused by his father. The other is an allegation that José Menendez raped Roy Rosselló, a former member of a well-known 1980s boy band, Menudo. At the time, Menendez was an executive at RCA Records, which had a recording deal with Menudo.
