As the movement to release Lyle and Erik Menendez from their life sentences for the shotgun killings of their parents picks up steam, they will appear before a judge on Monday.
Since a highly publicised trial in 1993 that nearly became required watching for millions of Americans, the two have been incarcerated.
The graphic details of Jose and Kitty Menendez’s murders in the family’s opulent Beverly Hills home enthralled television viewers.
According to the prosecution, the men Lyle was 21 and Erik was 18 at the time made a heartless attempt to seize their parents’ $14 million estate.
However, their lawyers explained that the 1989 murders were an act of desperate self-defence by young men who had been sexually and psychologically abused by their abusive father and complicit mother for years.
The publication of the Netflix sensation “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story” this year greatly increased attention in the case.
Their attorney informed local media that the brothers would be appearing in a Los Angeles court by videolink on Monday.
The hearing follows a campaign led by Kim Kardashian and other celebrities to secure their release.
“Set them free before the Holidays!” wrote Tammi Menendez, Erik’s wife, on social media last week.
Due to the high level of public interest, the court where the case will be heard will run a lottery for the 16 public gallery seats, and there will likely be intense competition for the spaces.
