Lawyer explains how public opinion affects cases like Menendez Bros

Lyle And Erik Menendez have the audience to thank for navigating their way to a potential grudge match.

Before Los Angeles District Attorney Lyle, 56, and Erik’s life sentence is reducedlawyer Paul Tweed – who is not involved in the brother’s case – went exclusively to We weekly how renewed public interest could contribute to the outcome of their case.

“That’s a Netflix court of public opinion. We’ve had that with most streamers at Netflix and Amazon. They believe that when they say, ‘Look, even though there are facts, this is not a factual broadcast.’ There’s actually a poetic license allowed,” Tweed explained as he promoted his new book From Holywood to Hollywood. “We have quite a number of pending cases at the moment and this is a major problem. They will rely on their disclaimer at first.”

Tweed specifically addressed The one from Netflix The Menéndez brothers documentaryand added: ‘They probably felt that they were prisoners. They were found guilty years ago, so there was very little risk in going down this path.”

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

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

Erik and Lyle are both currently serving life sentences at the Donovan Correctional Facility in California after being arrested in 1990 on two counts of first-degree murder. They became persons of importance after their parents, Jose And Kitty Menendezwere found shot to death in their Beverly Hills home. Thanks to a confession they made to their therapist — which they didn’t know was being recorded — Erik and Lyle eventually admitted to killing their parents after 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 in prison without the possibility of parole after two high-profile trials. Although their previous 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 a new opportunity for potential revenge.

On October 4, a month after the release of Monsters, the Los Angeles district attorney spoke George Gascon announced that a new hearing had been scheduled due to new evidence in Lyle and Erik’s murder case. Gascón offered an update on Thursday, October 24, when he recommended reducing Erik and Lyle’s sentences to 50 years. allowing them to be released paroled if approved by a judge.

Before Gascón’s decision, Netflix’s The Menéndez brothers offered Erik and Lyle the opportunity to do so share their side of the story.

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

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

“For me, I could never escape that night. That night just comes back to your mind a lot,” he noted in the document. “I never found understanding. Sometimes I feel like I saved Erik. But did I do that? Now look at his life. It feels impossible that I couldn’t do better. I couldn’t save us all.”

Like Erik and Lyle waiting for the next step in their possible retaliation, it’s safe to say their case sets a new precedent in the legal world. Tweed explored similar topics in his book From Holywood to Hollywoodwhich offers a behind-the-scenes look at how he navigated high-profile defamation lawsuits.

“I 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 said Us. “Another purpose of the book is to encourage all those young lawyers. I’m completely out of my depth (when it comes to) the platforms and (social media websites like) Snapchat. It’s just really hard for someone of my generation to keep up. So the younger generation has to step in and try to do it.”

Tweed continued: “In all my years as a lawyer, I have never seen so many opportunities for lawyers to do something right, to do something good.”

From Holywood to Hollywood is available before purchase.

With reporting by Christina Garibaldi