An actual juror from the Menendez brothers’ trial shares what it was like in the courtroom

Over thirty years after the murder of their parents, Lyle and Erik Menendez remain in prison in one of the most famous controversial cases in the US. Since Netflix’s show Monsters released, which told the story of the crime (unless you ask the actual Menendez brothers), viewers have been left with so many unanswered questions, including the future of the brothers who are currently serving life sentences. A juror from the original Menendez brothers’ trial, which ended in a deadlock, has spoken to New Idea and expressed that she thinks the brothers should be released.

Hazel Thornton, the juror in question from the Menendez brothers’ trial, explained that “A lot of people ask me if I hope they get a new trial, but I think they should just be released.”

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Hazel was there in 1993 listening to both sides of the case from the courtroom, and she told New Idea that she believed the brothers’ story that they killed their parents in self-defence after enduring years of sexual abuse at the hands of their parents.

She recalled what she saw during that turbulent time: “They didn’t want to tell their story – it was embarrassing for them. But it was compelling and so believable.”

Lyle and Erik were 21 and 18 at the time of the murder, and Hazel described Erik as “a nervous wreck.”

After the first trial was deadlocked on whether it was a murder or manslaughter, a second trial was held in 1995 where the brothers were found guilty of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. This news was devastating to Hazel.

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“It was a killing out of fear,” Hazel pressed. “In the trial, there were plenty of people testifying to [José’s] neglect, and physical abuse, and mental and emotional abuse.

“The defence weren’t allowed to present the case that they wanted to.”

On a brighter side, Hazel feels hopeful about a new generation of young people campaigning on social media for the brothers’ release after learning the details of the case through its various documentaries.

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“It’s mostly young people who are learning the facts, and going, ‘How did people not know they had actually been abused?’” Hazel says. “If they were convicted of manslaughter in 1994 they would have been out by now.”

She ended her statement on a strong note: “They were telling the truth. It’s time to let them go.”

Related stories recommended by this writer:

• The real Erik Menendez blasts ‘blatant lies’ told by Netflix show in bombshell statement

• Netflix got most crucial scene in Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story completely wrong

• In full: The real life escape plan letter Lyle wrote to brother Erik Menendez whilst in prison