Ryan Murphy's 'Monsters' Has Revived a Petition to Free the Menendez Brothers
"This was an injustice but it's not over, let's undo the terrible wrong done to the Menendez brothers."
Published Sept. 28 2024, 10:19 a.m. ET
Despite criticism from the Menendez Brothers themselves, Ryan Murphy's Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story has reintroduced the siblings to a new generation.
Currently the top show on Netflix, many are sympathizing with the brothers who killed their parents José and Mary Louise "Kitty" Menéndez in 1989.
They went on to be arrested for the crime in 1990, and found guilty in 1996. However, more information surrounding the murder, including alleged abuse, has viewers of the series asking for the Menendez brothers to be released — and has even reinvigorated a Change.org petition that was started in 2020.
The "Free the Menendez Brothers" petition has already received thousands of signatures.
On Change.org, a petition started on March 9, 2020, is getting some new traction with thousands signing in hopes of freeing Lyle and Erik Menendez, who are serving their sentence at Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility.
The petition claims that the brother committed the crimes due to the "emotional and sexual abuse" inflicted by their parents.
"When someone is being abused and having his life threatened, can we blame him for defending himself? Even if they would have gone to the police, the connections that their father had would've, gotten him out and he could have hurt them," the petition reads. "Were they supposed to sit through years more of abuse? Maybe it's only me, but I think they've paid their debt to society. They suffered so much as children and because of this, as adults too!"
Currently, the petition has over 31,000 signatures and hopes to hit its goal of 35,000. In just one day, it received over 6,000 signatures, so the goal is definitely feasible.
The petition has been sent to several lawmakers and politicians including Yvette Clark, Gavin Newsom, and Ted Cruz, but has not received a response from anyone.
Signers also shared their reason for boosting the petition, and many compared the Menendez brothers to Gypsy Rose Blanchard, who served seven years in prison for her role in her mother's murder.
"I believe those men could be released. Gypsy Rose had someone kill her mother and only did 8 years in prison," one person wrote before another added, "They’ve been controlled basically their whole lives. It’s sick how Gypsy Rose only got 6 years in prison and is now free and the Menendez brother has life in prison. They childhoods were ruined, just because they are male does not mean they can’t be sexually assaulted."