Attorney Leslie Abramson's Final Thoughts on the Menendez Brothers Suggest Nothing Can Be Done

Legally, Erik and Lyle Menendez could have the same attorney. Their family spent a sizable amount of money hiring one of the best criminal defense lawyers at the time, who went on to represent Erik. Leslie Abramson was fresh off a successful trial in which she defended 17-year-old Arnel Salvatierra, who was charged with murdering his father. He was later acquitted of first-degree murder and given a lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter. Salvatierra walked away with five years probation.

With Abramson, the Menendez family was hoping lightning would strike twice. After the first trial ended in a hung jury, it became obvious that Abramson was also on trial. Apparently, the six male jurors found her to be too abrasive, per the Washington Post. When she returned for the retrial, it was a much different experience. The witness list was pared down, cameras weren't allowed, and at one point she was gagged. When they lost, she was furious. Is Abramson still in contact with the brothers?

In October 2024, Netflix revisited the Menendez brothers' story, complete with never-before-seen photographs, footage from their trials, and interviews with some of the key players involved. Abramson was not one of them. At the end of the documentary, simply titled The Menendez Brothers, a title card revealed that Abramson didn't think there was anything else that could be done for the brothers.

The documentary was filmed in 2023, nearly 30 years after Erik and Lyle were found guilty of first-degree murder and handed two life sentences without the possibility of parole. Abramson would have been 80 at the time, with a full career and life between her and the siblings she fought so hard to protect. When contacted by the filmmakers, her response didn't match up with the fiery woman who wouldn't give up on the people she referred to as "the boys."

"Thirty years is a long time," Abramson wrote in an email. "I'd like to leave the past in the past. No amount of media nor teenage petitions will alter the fate of these clients. Only the courts can do that, and they have ruled." A lot can happen in three decades, especially when revisiting a case like this could mean opening up a whole host of old wounds. Still, it's disheartening to see this once passionate defender robbed of hope for the future of the Menendez brothers.

Sharon Waxman covered the Menendez brothers' retrial for the Washington Post, and she said the usually outspoken Abramson was pouting at the defense table. She was left "fiddling with pens and papers, as co-counsel Barry Levin — practically mute through the seven-month proceeding — argued against the death penalty and for life in prison without parole." Abramson had been accused of tampering with evidence and was dealing with the consequences.

As the retrial neared its end, Dr. William Vicary, who had met with Erik during his first year in jail, admitted to altering his notes at Abramson's request. He ultimately removed 24 passages during the 1993 trial and was caught when the state realized their notes were different. The prosecution requested she be moved from the case, but the judge decided on a gag order instead.