BROTHERS' AGES, HOME LIFE FACTORS IN VERDICTS.Byline: Jeanne Mariani-Belding Daily News Staff Writer The young ages of Erik and Lyle Menendez, and a troubling sense that things were amiss inside the Menendez family mansion, factored into a decision that jurors say was never disputed. The brothers - Erik, 25, and Lyle, 28 - would be spared from the death penalty. ``We felt that the parents were very controlling (and) demanding,'' said Lesley Hillings, a 36-year-old post office secretary from Arleta. ``They didn't have a normal type of childhood. ``We did have some sympathy for them in that respect,'' she said. Jurors said they were not convinced about the brothers' claims of sexual abuse, but many said they believed the relationships between Jose and Kitty Menendez and their sons indeed was dysfunctional - a point considered in reaching Wednesday's verdicts. In issuing their sentencing recommendations, jurors were obliged to weigh mitigating and aggravating factors aggravating factors, n.pl postures or movements that produce or intensify the symptoms of a patient and are used to establish the severity, irritability, and nature of the condition. , from the ages and lack of criminal history of the brothers to the brutality of the crimes. Analysts say the jury's decision made sense given the scenarios laid out for the eight-man, four-woman Superior Court panel. The death penalty, they say, is typically reserved for repeat, violent offenders. ``The main thing is some combination of their lack of a criminal record and some lingering puzzlement puz·zle·ment n. The state of being confused or baffled; perplexity. Noun 1. puzzlement - confusion resulting from failure to understand bafflement, befuddlement, bemusement, bewilderment, mystification, obfuscation about why they did it,'' said Robert Weisberg Robert Weisberg is an Edwin E. Huddleson, Jr. Professor of Law at Stanford Law School, and an expert on criminal law and procedure, and a leading scholar in the law and literature movement. Biography Weisberg received his B.A. , a Stanford University Stanford University, at Stanford, Calif.; coeducational; chartered 1885, opened 1891 as Leland Stanford Junior Univ. (still the legal name). The original campus was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted. David Starr Jordan was its first president. law professor. ``Most people who kill a close family member do it because of some domestic turmoil, and when that happens the death penalty is almost never given out,'' Weisberg said. Some experts believe that the issue of wealth and race may have cut both ways in determining the brothers' fates. ``If you change the wealth factor, then they would not have received the level of representation that they did, and I do think they would have gotten the death penalty and certainly race is a factor in that,'' said Stephen Bright The subject of this article may not satisfy the notability guideline for Biographies. If you are familiar with the subject matter, please expand or rewrite the article to establish its notability. , director of the Southern Center for Human Rights in Atlanta and a Yale law professor who specializes in capital punishment capital punishment, imposition of a penalty of death by the state. History Capital punishment was widely applied in ancient times; it can be found (c.1750 B.C.) in the Code of Hammurabi. . But UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX law Professor Peter Arenella said race had no role in the sentencing. The fact that the brothers were from a wealthy family may have, in fact, worked against them, he said. ``These brothers had it all and threw it all away out of greed and that would weigh against them,'' he said. ``Remember this is life in prison without parole and that is a horrible sentence.'' Since capital punishment was reinstated in 1978, there have been 512 people sentenced to death in California. There are 440 people on Death Row. Of those inmates, 199 are white; 165 are African-American; 59 are Latino; and 17 are of other races, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the California Department of Corrections. Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. County has sentenced more people to death than any other county. More than 28 percent, or 126, of the 440 inmates on Death Row were sentenced to die in Los Angeles County. THE MENENDEZ TRIALS Here is a look at key events that have shaped the murder trials of Lyle and Erik Menendez Joseph Lyle (Lyle) Menendez (born January 10, 1968) and brother Erik Galen (Erik) Menendez (born November 27, 1971) were convicted in a highly publicized trial for the shotgun murders of their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez, residents of Beverly Hills, California. . 1989 Aug. 20: Jose and Kitty Menendez are shotgunned to death in the den of their Beverly Hills Beverly Hills, city (1990 pop. 31,971), Los Angeles co., S Calif., completely surrounded by the city of Los Angeles; inc. 1914. The largely residential city is home to many motion-picture and television personalities. mansion. Lyle Menendez, in an emotional 911 call to police, sobs: ``Somebody killed my parents.'' 1990 March: Lyle, 22, and Erik, 19, are arrested on suspicion of murder. 1992 August: The California Supreme Court rules that prosecutors may seek to admit as evidence the brothers' taped confession to their psychotherapist psy·cho·ther·a·pist n. An individual, such as a psychiatrist, psychologist, psychiatric nurse, or psychiatric social worker, who practices psychotherapy. , Dr. L. Jerome Oziel. December: The Los Angeles County grand jury indicts the brothers, who plead not guilty. 1993 January: Prosecutors announce they will seek the death penalty. May: Lawyers file court papers shedding light on the brothers' defense: that they were victims of child abuse. June: Two juries are impaneled to consider evidence separately against the brothers. July: Opening statements. Sept. 10: Lyle testifies tearfully that his mother and father sexually abused him during childhood. Sept. 27: Erik testifies about 12 years of sexual abuse by his father. December: The juries begin deliberations. 1994 January: The juries deadlock and mistrials are declared. 1995 August: Jury selection starts for second trial. One jury is impaneled. October: Opening statements. New prosecutors, David P. Conn and Carol J. Najera, emphasize the carnage of the crime scene. Defense lawyers say Erik suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), mental disorder that follows an occurrence of extreme psychological stress, such as that encountered in war or resulting from violence, childhood abuse, sexual abuse, or serious accident. as a result of a lifetime of abuse. December: Erik begins 15 days on the witness stand. He insists he didn't know what he was doing when he killed his parents. 1996 January: Weisberg bars much negative testimony against the parents. February: Weisberg throws out the brothers' self-defense argument, and limits the heat-of-passion defense to the father's slaying, effectively limiting verdicts in the mother's slaying to murder or acquittal The legal and formal certification of the innocence of a person who has been charged with a crime. Acquittals in fact take place when a jury finds a verdict of not guilty. . March 1: The case goes to the jury. March 20: Jurors convict the brothers of first-degree murder. April 17: After deliberating for 2-1/2 days, jurors recommend that the brothers be sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. Source: Daily News research CAPTION(S): box |
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