“Obviously rigged”: Mark Geragos Speaks Out After Menendez Brothers’ Parole Applications Denied

Mark Geragos is speaking up against his clients Eric and Lyle Menendez's parole applications being denied.

Us Weekly has reported that the attorney sat down for an appearance on Saturday, August 23, on TMZ’s “2 Angry Men” podcast, where he reflected on the brothers' recent loss:

“It was obviously rigged,” Mark Geragos, 67, said. “It was unbelievable what a s***show this was.”

Per the outlet, Erik, 54, and Lyle, 57, have been serving time behind bars since 1996, when they were convicted of the first-degree murder of their parents almost a decade before that. At the time, both men claimed to have acted out of self-defense, but they were sentenced to life in prison without the chance for parole.

Mark Geragos says he has no proof that the Menendez's case was rigged: Read more

TMZ

@TMZ

For the first time since the Menendez Brothers were denied parole, their lawyer Mark Geragos is speaking out — and he says it was RIGGED.​Full episode of '2 Angry Men' out NOW: https://youtu.be/nBo3GN3CNEk

In his latest podcast appearance, Mark Geragos continued,

“[It was a reporter who pointed out] that one of the commissioners during Lyle’s actually likened cell phone activity to gang activity, which has got to be the height of hypocrisy and talking about how it threatens correctional officers." Noting that officers sometimes smuggle the devices into the prisons, Mark Geragos continued: “First of all, they have tablets [and] they got phones. They pay per minute. The only person who doesn’t profit or get impacted financially by cell phone usage in the prisons is the for-profit suppliers.”

He added,

“The idea that a cell phone is going to be the reason that you’re not going — in this society [and] in this day and age of AI, where you’re trying to talk about people coming out and having some kind of a transition. The record is replete, with Lyle especially, that he would not fight back when he was attacked in prison.”

Mark Geragos also emphasised that he had no proof to corroborate his claims that the proceedings were definitely "rigged," but maintained that his clients should have been eligible for parole.

“It was Kabuki theatre,” he alleged, referencing the traditional Japanese art form. “[If] you remember during the resentencing hearing [that] there was all kinds of shenanigans by the board of parole to the point where the judge … actually stood up on the bench and on the record and said, ‘This is stupid.’”

Sky News has reported that Eric and Lyle Menendez, who've spent 35 years behind bars, were denied parole on August 21 and 22, respectively. A panel comprising two commissioners decided that Lyle should not be released for three years, after which he can try again.

They claimed that there would be signs that the brother would pose a public risk, contrary to a psychologist's findings that he is a "very low" risk to society. Per Sky News, during his hearing, he got emotional and accepted sole responsibility for the murders, noting at one point:

"I will never be able to make up for the harm and grief I caused everyone in my family."

Per The Guardian, when the brothers murdered their parents, José and Kitty Menendez, Erik was 18 and Lyle was 21. They have long maintained that their father sexually abused them, though prosecutors in their original hearing argued that they killed for their multimillion-dollar inheritance.

Nathan Hochman, the Los Angeles district attorney in the recent proceedings, opposed the release of the brothers on the grounds that they have yet to accept complete responsibility of their actions:

“We have consistently opposed their release because they have not demonstrated full insight into their crimes or shown that they have been fully rehabilitated, and therefore continue to pose a risk to society,” he said in a statement on Wednesday, per the outlet.

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