Famous prosecutor Marcia Clark remains divided on whether Erik and Lyle Menéndez deserve to be released from prison.
“I have bounced back and forth on this so many times because I don’t know the case,” Clark, 71, who was brought into the spotlight during the O.J. Simpson murder trial, said during the Monday, December 2, episode of the Today show. “It was in the air [Los Angeles District Attorney’s office when I worked there] but I wasn’t involved in it. So I don’t really know any more than the public does so I can’t say what I think should happen.”
After practicing law for decades, Clark could see both sides of the argument.
“Sometimes I think, ‘Hey, these spoiled rich kids shotgunned their parents to death. I understand you thought you were in danger with your father — but I am not sure I buy that,’” she noted. “On the other hand, I think that they might [have been in danger]. If they did then they deserve to be convicted of manslaughter.”
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Erik, 53, and Lyle, 55, were arrested in 1990 on two counts of first-degree murder after their parents, Kitty and José Menéndez, were found shot in their home. The siblings later admitted to killing their parents following years of alleged physical, emotional and sexual abuse. They were ultimately found guilty of and sentenced to life without parole in 1996 after two high-profile trials.
While their prior attempts to appeal the decision were denied, recent high-profile TV projects such as Monsters, The Menéndez Brothers and more have seemingly offered Erik and Lyle a chance at freedom. In October, the Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón recommended that a judge resentence Erik and Lyle to 50 years, which could make them eligible for parole and prison release.
“I don’t think it is bad to look back at cases. I do not. Because every case — at the time it is tried — is impacted in some way by what is happening to us as a society and our understanding of the issues, maybe, involved in that case,” Clark said on Monday. “Particularly when it comes to child abuse. So we bring a more sophisticated idea as to what was going on. That is a good thing.”
Clark continued: “It brings us balance and is probably an argument for doing that as much as possible. That doesn’t necessarily mean you change the outcome and it doesn’t necessarily mean the Menéndez brothers get released. But we look at it now with different eyes. There’s no question.”
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According to Clark, cases such as the Menéndez one is “more of a conundrum” compared to her work on the Simpson trial because it “gives you more” to think about.
Back in 1994, Simpson was named as the primary suspect after his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman were fatally stabbed outside of her home in Los Angeles one year prior.
Simpson was ultimately acquitted on the murder charges in 1995 after a high-profile criminal trial but was later found liable for Brown Simpson and Goldman’s deaths after their families sued him in a civil trial. The former athlete died of prostate cancer at age 76 in April.
During their individual legal issues in the ‘90s, Simpson and the Menéndez brothers crossed paths at Los Angeles County Men’s Central Jail. Robert Rand’s 2018 book The Menéndez Murders revealed that Erik offered Simpson advice about his legal strategy and handling the overwhelming media coverage of his trial. Lyle also interacted with Simpson and allegedly advised the athlete to plead guilty to accept a plea bargain.
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“I told him I thought the public would understand,” Lyle told Rand in an interview. “I expressed my concern that [lawyer] Robert Shapiro wouldn’t let him tell the truth. I said I knew it obviously wasn’t planned and that he had snapped in the heat of passion.”
Erik later said he thought Simpson’s verdict had “a very negative effect” on their case, sharing in The Menéndez Murders: Erik Tells All, “Because this verdict was so shocking, there was this sense that an extreme injustice had happened and now we’re gonna have to right it with every defendant that comes up. We were the next defendant.”
