Lyle and Erik

Lyle and Erik Menendez, two brothers who murdered their parents in 1989 in Beverly Hills and would be all but forgotten as they languished in prison under a sentence of life without the possibility of parole save for recent developments in their case. Today there is the good chance the brothers will be released from prison sometime in 2025. Interest in the murders, trials and convictions has peaked with this new twist. I am no different. But rather than weigh in on whether the brothers, have served enough time and being model prisoners, have earned their freedom, I wanted to go back to the crimes and their claims of self-defense. Self-defense is defined as “using force or violence to protect oneself or a third person from imminent harm, in other words, the victim reasonably believes they are in immediate danger of imminent death, bodily injury or serious harm.” Who better to guide us on this journey than Attorney and legal commentator, Stanley A. Goldman.