In solitary confinement you meet the most interesting people.
For Michael Franzese, a former New York mobster in prison for a parole violation, those people were Eric and Lyle Menendez, a couple he met while serving time at a federal correctional facility in Los Angeles County.
The Menendez brothers are notorious for murdering their parents, including their father Jose, a showbiz mogul who they claim sexually abused them, and was sentenced to life in prison without parole in 1996. It was. The two have been at Southern California’s Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility since 2018, several years after they met Franzese.
But they won’t be trapped for long. A movement is currently underway to shorten their sentences and release them. It was brought to life by the Ryan Murphy-produced Netflix biographical series Monsters: The Story of Lyle and Erik Menendez.
The film, released in September, tells the story of two murderous brothers who are said to be sexual predators of their father, Jose, and their laissez-faire mother, Kitty. Franzese praised the work on his YouTube channel, adding that the brothers “spent enough time on it.”
Franzese arrived at this opinion through first-hand knowledge. “Lyle opened up to me and told me about the abuse,” Franzese told the Post. “I asked him a lot of questions. I’m a good BS detector, so I think they were abused by their father.”
That said, he remembers the strange words that came out of Lyle’s mouth in hopes of not dying in prison. I can’t do anything without my father. ”
Despite everything, Franzese added: “They were very dependent on him. (Lyle) always expressed his love for his father, even though he was abusive to him. He said he lived in fear of him. But he was a great source of strength in his life.”
Currently, former gang members are joining a diverse group of actors, relatives, and influencers who are rallying to demand the brothers’ early release. Kim Kardashian, Rosie O’Donnell, rapper Anelae “X-Raid” Brown and dozens of their relatives have all come forward to rally for a rethink of life sentences.
Los Angeles County’s embattled district attorney, George Gascón, is up for re-election in November, amid whispers that the ultra-liberal prosecutor is eager to make a comeback in public life.Lyle and Eric announced that it would examine the judgment and decide whether to pass a sentence. Reconsideration is warranted.
He briefly posted a screenshot of Eric’s letter to his cousin, which was exposed by Robert Rand, who wrote a nonfiction book about his brother’s murder, but quickly deleted it. The letter said, “I was trying to avoid my father.” “I wake up every night thinking he might walk in.”
Some believe this is evidence of sexual abuse allegations.
The brothers have been in prison since 1990 and were convicted of first-degree murder in the 1989 killings of their parents. She claimed that Jose sexually abused her siblings while her mother, Kitty, watched in silence. Roy Rosselló of the boy band Menudo made similar allegations against Jose in the years following his conviction.
Eric and Lyle claimed their murders were self-defense, claiming that their parents would have killed them to prevent their father from being exposed.
For years, the Menendez brothers were pretty much a punchline, and it seemed unlikely they would ever see the light of day. Ryan Murphy then produced a Netflix series about sexual abuse, murder charges and two trials (the first was declared a mistrial).
The series was critically criticized in Variety magazine, with the brothers detesting it as “terrible” and “full of blatant lies”, and particularly objecting to scenes suggesting the brothers had an incestuous relationship.
Murphy responded, “It’s really, really hard to put your life on screen when it’s your life.”
But then something unexpected happened. “Young people saw this and were outraged by the characterization,” Mark Geragos, Lyle and Eric’s attorney, told the Post. “The Ryan Murphy thing caused some backlash, but it really helped. So much so that Ryan Murphy said, ‘I’m the best thing that ever happened to them,’ because he was so… Because it was too much. I think the backlash helped because it was such an outrageous act. ”
Although Franzese admired Lyle and Eric, he had no respect for their actions after the murder, especially the lavish purchases they made with their late parents’ money, including a Rolex watch and a Porsche. Grief overwhelmed law enforcement.
“What I can say is that these people were not real criminals… They were amateurs,” Franzese said. “After all this was over, they didn’t act properly. I mean, they went shopping for a car! They should have done the opposite.”
Since the series ended, the brothers have also attracted the attention of reality star turned social justice advocate Kim Kardashian.
“These are kind, intelligent, honest people…My hope is that Eric and Lyle Menendez’s life sentences will be reconsidered,” she wrote in an essay for NBC.
Rosie O’Donnell claims to have corresponded with Lyle for 30 years, ever since his appearance on “Larry King Live.” She ignored the advice of Barbara Walters, who warned her, “He’s a murderer. He’s a murderer.” He is very cunning. ”
O’Donnell and Lyle have been speaking on the phone frequently recently, and his wife, former magazine reporter Rebecca Sneed, said they always kept in touch on Mother’s Day in 2023, when they visited him in prison. is hugging his brothers. O’Donnell described herself as a “big sister” and a “cheerleader” for freedom.
Rapper Anelae “X-Raised” Brown renounces her violent past, where her brother took prison classes, enrolled in Narcotics Anonymous and went to prison for his involvement in murders as a member of the Crips gang I made it public that I had encouraged him to do so.
“They’ve served sentences commensurate with the crimes they committed in terms of being victims of child abuse, sexual abuse, psychological abuse,” Brown, now free, told the Post. “I strongly believe that they rehabilitated themselves and dozens of others, including me.”
At a news conference in downtown Los Angeles earlier this week, members of the Menendez family, young and old, rallied to demand the release of Lyle and Eric. Kitty’s sister, Joan Andersen Vandermolen, 92, expressed her unwavering sympathy for her nephews. “Their actions, while tragic, turned out to be a desperate reaction of two young boys trying to survive their father’s unspeakable brutality,” she said. .
It’s unclear what will happen to their finances when they get out of prison, but “I’ve never asked about it,” Geragos said, believing that any money the family has left “is long gone.” He said there was. Rapper Anelae “X-Raided” Brown isn’t worried. .
“They have powerful allies, myself included, who would find it unacceptable that the Menendez brothers were not financially secure,” X-Raided said.
But not everyone is ready to write off the blood on the Menendez brothers’ hands. Their uncle, Milton Andersen, Kitty’s 90-year-old brother, wants them to remain in prison for the rest of their lives. Andersen maintains that his nephews were not sexually abused, said attorney Kathy Cady.
“He believes it was a hoax and that the motive was pure greed,” Cady told Andersen Eyewitness News.
Although Brown acknowledges that “no one can put a cap on the amount of time people can be harmed,” he believes Lyle and Eric Menendez will make significant contributions to society after their incarceration. “They were given enough time to investigate the crime and the motive behind it. Seeing the success of the brothers and how they perform in society after their release, everything is justified.” Dew.”
