Netflix’s new series Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story explores all aspects of the brothers’ case – including their prison sentences. The true story of Lyle and Erik Menendez, two brothers who pleaded guilty to murdering their parents in 1989, is recapped in ten episodes in Monsters season 2, an anthology series by Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan. The series reexamines the unsettling circumstances surrounding the murders of José and Kitty Menendez, who were accused of abusing Lyle and Erik throughout their childhoods. Monsters season 2 has been in the Top 10 TV Shows on Netflix since it was released on September 19, 2024.

Monsters season 2 stars Cooper Koch and Nicholas Alexander Chavez as Erik and Lyle Menendez, respectfully. Erik and Lyle were each given life sentences for murdering their parents and have been incarcerated since December 1992. Both Menendez brothers claimed that their father, José, sexually abused them while their mother, Kitty, would violently abuse them when they were kids. Despite the popularity and success of Monsters season 2 on Netflix, the series has garnered scrutiny for portraying a false incestuous relationship between Erik and Lyle. The series has sparked new interest in the real Menendez brothers as new evidence of their sexual abuse is being reviewed.

Lyle & Erik Menendez Were Both Convicted On 2 Counts Of First-Degree Murder & Conspiracy To Commit Murder In 1996

They’ve Been In Federal Prison Ever Since

The Menendez brothers were found guilty on 2 counts of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder in 1996 for the crimes they committed against their parents in 1996. According to NPR, “A jury convicted Lyle and Eric Menendez of first-degree murder today for the 1989 slayings of their parents in their Beverly Hills mansion. The jury rejected the claim that the brothers killed their parents to end years of abuse.” The jurors ultimately sentenced both of the brothers to life in prison without the possibility of parole but rejected the implementation of the death penalty.

Per CNN:

” Lyle, who was then 21, and Erik, then 18, admitted they fatally shot-gunned their entertainment executive father and their mother, but said they feared their parents were about to kill them to prevent the disclosure of the father’s long-term sexual molestation of Erik. Prosecutors contended there was no evidence of any molestation. They said the sons were after their parents’ multimillion-dollar estate .”

As a result, both Kyle and Erik Menendez have been in federal prison for the greater part of three decades. All this information is conveyed in Monsters season 2.

Lyle & Erik Menendez Were Both Sentenced To Life In Prison Without Parole

They Were Not Given The Opportunity To Be Tried For Manslaughter

Back in the mid-1990s, Lyle and Erik Menendez were given the standard treatment for guilty verdicts involving first-degree murder cases, which is typically life in prison. This is no different from the Aaron Hernandez sentencing for his first-degree murder conviction of Odin Lloyd, which is dramatized in the FX series American Sports Story (also produced by Ryan Murphy). The Menendez brothers, who are both now in their 50s, have spent the majority of their lives serving their life sentences. Monsters season 2 sheds light on their personal lives and difficult circumstances that were mostly dismissed by jurors, which resulted in their life sentences.

After the first trial tried each brother individually and resulted in a mistrial, the second trial placed both of them together and became a national media sensation. According to TIME:

” The brothers’ attorneys said the family believed from the beginning they should have been charged with manslaughter rather than murder. Manslaughter was not an option for the jury during the second trial that ultimately led to the brothers’ murder conviction .”

Manslaughter charges would have given each brother a maximum sentence of 20 years, which meant that they would have been released from prison in 2016 if that option had been available at the time.

Will The Menendez Brothers Ever Get Another Retrial?

New Evidence Has Emerged In The Case

The Menendez brothers’ case is being examined based on new evidence that pertains to their claims of being sexually abused and molested as children. The new evidence is a letter written by Erik to his cousin, Andy Cano, in December 1988, roughly eight months before the double homicide. According to CBS News:

” The letter reads, in part, “I’ve been trying to avoid dad. It’s still happening, Andy, but it’s worse for me now. … Every night I stay up thinking he might come in. … I’m afraid. … He’s crazy. He’s warned me a hundred times about telling anyone, especially Lyle .”

Kim Kardashian has also called for the release of the Menendez brothers, which could be featured in future episodes of Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.