Lawyer Leslie Abramson: The story of defending the Menendez brothers
21 september 2024 в 23:13
Lyle and Erik Menendez continue to serve a life sentence in prison for the brutal murder of their parents on August 20, 1989, when the brothers, then 21 and 18 years old, shot them in the family mansion in Beverly Hills.
Thirty-five years later, Ryan Murphy’s series «Monsters: The Menendez Brothers Story» — now available on Netflix since September 19 — has revived interest in the Menendez brothers. The ten-episode season aims to explore whether the brothers were cold-blooded killers seeking to inherit their family’s fortune, as the prosecution claimed, or victims of years of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse by their parents, as renowned lawyer Leslie Abramson claimed and as the brothers continue to assert themselves.
Here’s everything you need to know about Abramson.
Abramson took on Erik’s case about six months after the murder of his parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez. She defended the then 21-year-old Erik during his trial for the murder, which began in 1993.
«I've represented people accused of murder for 27 years, and these guys just don’t fit any of my previous clients», - she told the Washington Post. «They're not killers. They’re troubled kids in a very difficult and disgusting home environment, and they broke».
As a fearless and fiery lawyer, now 80 years old, Abramson successfully persuaded the jury to find Erik not guilty of first-degree murder, despite his confession to killing both parents with his brother Lyle in 1989. This led to a lengthy process, and the case returned to court in 1996. Although she fought tirelessly against the charges, both Erik and Lyle were ultimately sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. However, she managed to save Erik from the death penalty.
The Washington Post did not hold back when writing about the tenacious lawyer in 1996, describing her as «fiery, mud-slinging, nuclear pain in the legal ass», - and noting her «curly yellow mass» of hair. Standing at just «4-foot-11», her «vintage, inner eruption and anger» captivated viewers on Court TV during the trial.
Abramson faced an investigation by the State Bar after it was revealed during the trial that she had asked Erik’s psychiatrist, Dr. William Vicary, to remove material she claimed was privileged from his records. In February 1999, the California State Bar closed the investigation into Abramson due to insufficient evidence, and she was found innocent.
Abramson passed the bar exam in 1970 after earning her JD degree from UCLA. Her first job was in the Los Angeles County Public Defender’s Office, where she gained a reputation for fiercely advocating for her clients. This reputation earned her the «Lawyer of the Year» award from the Los Angeles Criminal Courts Association — twice.
Available on Amazon, Abramson’s memoir «Defense Ready: Life in the Trenches of Criminal Law» was published in 1997. The New York Times called it «an engaging and maddening chronicle of her most famous criminal cases», - in which she described her experiences with several well-known clients
Thirty-five years later, Ryan Murphy’s series «Monsters: The Menendez Brothers Story» — now available on Netflix since September 19 — has revived interest in the Menendez brothers. The ten-episode season aims to explore whether the brothers were cold-blooded killers seeking to inherit their family’s fortune, as the prosecution claimed, or victims of years of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse by their parents, as renowned lawyer Leslie Abramson claimed and as the brothers continue to assert themselves.
Here’s everything you need to know about Abramson.
Abramson took on Erik’s case about six months after the murder of his parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez. She defended the then 21-year-old Erik during his trial for the murder, which began in 1993.
«I've represented people accused of murder for 27 years, and these guys just don’t fit any of my previous clients», - she told the Washington Post. «They're not killers. They’re troubled kids in a very difficult and disgusting home environment, and they broke».
As a fearless and fiery lawyer, now 80 years old, Abramson successfully persuaded the jury to find Erik not guilty of first-degree murder, despite his confession to killing both parents with his brother Lyle in 1989. This led to a lengthy process, and the case returned to court in 1996. Although she fought tirelessly against the charges, both Erik and Lyle were ultimately sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. However, she managed to save Erik from the death penalty.
The Washington Post did not hold back when writing about the tenacious lawyer in 1996, describing her as «fiery, mud-slinging, nuclear pain in the legal ass», - and noting her «curly yellow mass» of hair. Standing at just «4-foot-11», her «vintage, inner eruption and anger» captivated viewers on Court TV during the trial.
Abramson faced an investigation by the State Bar after it was revealed during the trial that she had asked Erik’s psychiatrist, Dr. William Vicary, to remove material she claimed was privileged from his records. In February 1999, the California State Bar closed the investigation into Abramson due to insufficient evidence, and she was found innocent.
Abramson passed the bar exam in 1970 after earning her JD degree from UCLA. Her first job was in the Los Angeles County Public Defender’s Office, where she gained a reputation for fiercely advocating for her clients. This reputation earned her the «Lawyer of the Year» award from the Los Angeles Criminal Courts Association — twice.
Available on Amazon, Abramson’s memoir «Defense Ready: Life in the Trenches of Criminal Law» was published in 1997. The New York Times called it «an engaging and maddening chronicle of her most famous criminal cases», - in which she described her experiences with several well-known clients
© Kolganov Andrey
