Ryan Murphy Addresses Menendez Brothers’ Case Getting a Second Look From L.A. District Attorney
The two weeks since Ryan Murphy released Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story haven’t exactly been uneventful.
In the wake of the nine-part series detailing and often dramatizing the 1989 killings of José and Kitty Menendez at the hands of their sons, the Menendez family cried foul about the portrayal, millions of Netflix subscribers watched and Kim Kardashian visited the California prison where the Menendez brothers are currently serving life sentences without the possibility of parole. On Thursday, however, things got really interesting. Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón announced their case was under review for possible resentencing, a result of the accusations of abuse levied by the Menendez brothers against their late parents — accusations ignored in the trial leading to their convictions but bolstered by its depiction on Murphy’s Netflix drama and other key developments. (Also, it’s no small matter that the world’s most famous prison reformist published an op-ed calling for their release.)
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Murphy, who’s been on a rather unprecedented spree by recently launching six new shows in 10 days, hopped on the phone Thursday night to discuss the latest developments, giving Kardashian an early look at the show and why he doesn’t believe the aggrieved Menendez family members have even watched the show in its entirety.
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This has all happened relatively quickly.
It has and yet it has not. The rollout of it all today is interesting. When you do a show like this, you have sources and you talk to people. I’d heard about the amount of people who’ve watched the show and have been bombarding the governor’s office and the DA’s office. The show has shined a white-hot spotlight on this case. A lot of people have been outraged about it.
I don’t know if this was your original agenda, but the reality of this case possibly being reopened had to have entered the picture at some point. Was that a desire from the onset?
No, I was interested in talking about sexual abuse. When we were making it, though, Nicholas [Chavez] and Cooper [Koch]’s performances were so empathetic that I did think they were going to change hearts and minds. When you see episode four and five [which detail the abuse the brothers claim their parents inflicted], I think we’re giving the Menendez brothers a platform to talk about their point of view of what they claim happened to them. I find it ironic that their family condemned it so vociferously and with so much anger. [Those episodes] are probably one of the things that has led to an understanding of this case and a move towards justice.
As I’ve always said, that second trial was just awful. They did not get their fair day in court. Certain things which should have been entered into evidence and deemed admissible, were not. If you look at the breakdown of what the jury did, they had no interest in the sexual abuse or even an understanding it. I knew when we were making it that it would outrage some people like Rosie O’Donnell and the Menendez family, but I also thought it would make a lot of people feel empathy and compassion to them.
People like Kim Kardashian.
A month before the show came out, Kim, who’s my friend, called me and asked to see it. I gave her a sneak peek, and she said she had no idea about so much of this stuff. I feel a lot of people feel that way.
Were you aware that essay was coming out today?
I did not know. I love Kim. What she does for prison reform is amazing. I support her 100 percent. She went to that prison to speak to a lot of people, and she met Erik and Lyle. She talked to me about it, and Kim’s point of view is that you shouldn’t throw anybody away in prison forever. There’s always ways of rehabilitation and looking at cases in a new way — particularly if justice has not been allowed. I told her to do her thing. She’s passionate about justice for this case — as I think she has been for dozens of others. There’s a great power in her advocacy.
Did you get any indication that Gascon was going to make this announcement today?
I had no idea. Again, I’ve talked to people. I know that there’s been a huge amount of public pressure. But people have been working tirelessly on behalf of these brothers for a very long time — people who believe that the sexual abuse angle should have been examined more thoroughly. Some of it has just come to light should be reexamined. But the timing of this announcement and Kim, I do think about the power of television to a large degree. There’s something very powerful about watching these true-life stories. I’ve seen that time and time again with my career. Look what Sarah Paulson did and how that show rehabilitated Marcia Clark’s reputation in the court of public opinion. And it’s not always true life. Look at what Glee did for advocacy.
Going back to the family’s response for a moment, do you believe that they watched the entire series?
No, no, no. I don’t think you would release a statement like that after you watched episode five. Episode five is basically a multimillion-dollar infomercial for the case to be re-examined — which is now happening. I never understood it. As I’ve said, this show is the best thing that’s happened to those brothers in 30 years because it just put a spotlight on their case. You can say it wasn’t the true story — and I think a lot of it was the true story — but we’ll never know the true story. I knew all of that was coming before the show even came, because Tammi Menendez had written me a very hot email almost a year ago — claiming that we were showcasing the wrong monsters. I didn’t even respond to her. Just wait until you see episode five. Let’s see if you change your tune. Sadly, they apparently didn’t do that. That’s on them, not on me.
It all makes you wonder what does happen next. We very often hear about district attorney’s offices reopening cases, but it often never goes anywhere after that.
I think that there’s a lot of things that can be put into evidence that’s overwhelming. And you cannot underestimate the advocacy of Kim Kardashian. She’s taken so seriously in these matters. She doesn’t do this for just anybody, by the way. She’s very careful, and I think Kim always gets it right. I don’t know. This feels different to me. But you’re right. Sometimes it just comes out with a whiff. But I think there’s been a series of quiet victories. I think that they probably deserve their time in court, at least with some of this new evidence. And then it’s up for the courts to decide. I hope that they do get fairness. And that’s the way the courts are supposed to work, right?
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