Lawyer Explains How Public Opinion Influences Cases Like Menendez Bros

Lyle and Erik Menéndez have the public to thank for their road to a possible resentencing.

Before the Los Angeles District Attorney recommended that Lyle, 56, and Erik’s life sentence be reduced, attorney Paul Tweed — who is not involved in the brother’s case — broke down exclusively to Us Weekly how renewed public interest could contribute to the outcome of their case.

“That’s a Netflix court of public opinion. We have had [that] with most of the streamers at Netflix and Amazon. They take the view that if they say, ‘Look, although there are facts out there, this is not a factual broadcast.’ There’s basically been poetic license allowed,” Tweed explained while promoting his new book From Holywood to Hollywood. “We have quite a number of cases ongoing at the moment and this is a big issue. They will rely on their disclaimer at the beginning.”

Tweed specifically addressed Netflix’s The Menéndez Brothers documentary, adding, “Probably they took the view that they’re incarcerated. They’ve been found guilty years ago so there was very little risk in going down this route.”

While reflecting on the aftermath of Erik and Lyle’s high-profile trials, Tweed noted it would be “a massive uphill struggle” to free the brothers, despite the overwhelming support that Erik, 53, and Lyle now have on social media.

“That’s the code of social media opinion,” he added. “And that again, is going to be a big, big problem for most people going forward.”

Erik and Lyle are both currently serving life sentences in California’s Donovan Correctional Facility after they were arrested in 1990 on two counts of first-degree murder. They became persons of interest after their parents, José and Kitty Menéndez, were found shot dead in their Beverly Hills home. Due to a confession they gave their therapist — which they didn’t realize was being taped — Erik and Lyle ultimately admitted to killing their parents following years of alleged physical, emotional and sexual abuse.

The Menéndez brothers were ultimately found guilty in 1996 of first-degree murder and sentenced to life without the possibility of parole after two high-profile trials. While their prior attempts to appeal the decision were denied, recent projects such as Ryan Murphy’s controversial series Monsters, The Menéndez Brothers and more offered Erik and Lyle another chance at a possible resentencing.

On October 4, one month after the release of Monsters, Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón announced that a new hearing was set due to new evidence in Lyle and Erik’s murder case. Gascón offered an update on Thursday, October 24, when he recommended that Erik and Lyle’s sentences be reduced to 50 years, which could allow them to be released on parole if approved by a judge.

Before Gascón’s decision, Netflix’s The Menéndez Brothers offered Erik and Lyle the chance to share their side of the story.

“I do worry and I think it is important that the seriousness of my crime not be minimized or diminished,” Erik said in the documentary, which was released on October 7. “I went to the only person that had ever helped me and that had ever protected me. Then ultimately this happened because of me. Because I went to him. Then afterwards, he was arrested because of me. Because I couldn’t live with what I did, I couldn’t. I wanted to die. In a way, I did not protect Lyle. I got him into every aspect of this tragedy. Every aspect of this tragedy is my fault.”

Lyle, meanwhile, admitted he still blamed himself for the events that took place.

“For me, I never could escape that night. That night just floods back into your mind a lot,” he noted in the doc. “I never found understanding. I sometimes feel like I rescued Erik. But did I? Look at his life now. It feels impossible that I couldn’t do better. I couldn’t rescue all of us.”

As Erik and Lyle await the next step in their potential resentencing, it is safe to say that their case sets a new precedent in the legal world. Tweed has explored similar topics in his book From Holywood to Hollywood, which offers a behind-the-scenes look into how he navigated high-profile defamation lawsuits.

“I just thought I should try to get a lot of this down on paper. I thought it was very important to [show] how we got here,” he shared with Us. “Another purpose of the book is to encourage all those young attorneys. I’m totally out of depth [when it comes to] the platforms and [social media websites such as] Snapchat. It’s just very hard for somebody in my generation to keep up. So the younger generation has to step in and try and do it.”

Tweed continued: “In all my years as an attorney, I’ve never seen so much opportunity for lawyers to do something right, to do something good.”

From Holywood to Hollywood is available for purchase.

With reporting by Christina Garibaldi