In 1989, Lyle and Erik Menendez killed their parents, José and Kitty. It wasn’t until 1993 that the brothers first went on trial, and then since their sentencing in 1996, Lyle and Erik Menendez have been serving a life sentence in prison.
For a huge part of their sentence, the brothers were placed in different prisons and believed they would never see each other again. However, they were later moved to be in the same jail, and now have limited time they can spend together. Over the years people close to Lyle and Erik, as well as them themselves, have spoken about what their lives are like now.
Here’s an insight into what prison life has been like for Lyle and Erik Menendez, over the decades they have spent in jail for the murders of their parents.
via Netflix
Until 2018, Lyle and Erik Menendez were housed in different jails, and feared they’d never see each other again
After sentencing, Lyle and Erik were sent to separate prisons. They were apart for 20 years, and feared they’d never see each other again. According to ABC News, while in separate prisons, the brothers weren’t allowed to talk on the phone, but they did write letters to each other and would play chess by sending moves to each other through the mail.
Lyle and Erik were placed in maximum security prisons, where inmates are walked around in chains. When they were first jailed, Erik went on hunger strike to try and get moved closer to Lyle.
Talking to People in 2005, Erik described his cell as “tiny” and said: “The cell I live in is tiny … about 6ft by 4ft. Two people live in the cell. The cell is so small that only one person can be up off the bunks at a time. There is a commode and a sink. There is a desk I sit at which faces a window… I spend a lot of time at the window. It is a beautiful scene beyond the towers with the vast sky and the mountains. I look out at the things that cannot be for me.”
He also described his strict prison schedule at the time. “I get up at 6 a.m. At 6:20 I have breakfast. I meditate at 6:50,” Erik said. “Starting at 7:30 I read and write in my journal. We’ll either have a morning yard time starting at 9:30 or an afternoon yard time starting at 2:00 p.m. At two o’clock I start my job. I will try and call Tammi [his wife] in the afternoon. I’ll then work until 8:00 p.m. At 9:00 p.m. we’re locked down. I generally go to sleep around 10:30 p.m.”
In 2018, prison officials moved Erik to the same unit as Lyle. This was despite fears the brothers may plan a prison escape together. The brothers are currently housed at Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego County.
According to Robert Rand, a journalist who has kept in contact with the Menendez brothers, the two “burst into tears immediately” when they saw each other for the first time since 1996. Lyle and Erik still live in different dorm rooms, and a locked in their cells from 9pm. They can see each other every day at meal times, and in the exercise yard.
In prison, both Lyle and Erik Menendez have great disciplinary records
via Netflix
Speaking of his prison life, in 2005 Erik told People: “I have gotten into fights… many fights. But I never fight first. You have to learn to be smart. There is a perpetual state of fear that exists as background noise. You always have to be aware of who is around you. You have to continually hone your survival instincts.”
That being said, the brothers don’t have a bad record behind bars. Lyle has never broken a rule in prison, and Erik has only ever had two serious rule violations. Because of good behaviour, the brothers now live in a “non-designated programming facility” which gives them more freedom in prison.
Lyle does a lot of work to help victims of sexual abuse
via Netflix
Because of their good behaviour, the brothers are part of Echo Yard, a programme that gives inmates more freedom and rehabilitative and educational programming. Echo Yard prisoners take yoga and art classes, they can study different academic subjects, and can join groups to address issues like anger management or alcoholism.
Both brothers have worked to support people who experienced childhood sexual abuse, but as stated in the Netflix doc, it seems this is something Lyle has become particularly involved in.
Erik has taken up art and has worked with terminally ill patients
Whilst in prison, both Lyle and Erik Menendez have taken up art. They have taken advantage of Project Paint, and they helped paint a 1,000-foot long mural in 2020. It seems Erik has taken a liking to art more so, and people have even found some of the art work he has produced whilst behind bars.
“They’ve done so much amazing work in prison. Erik teaches meditation. He teaches speech classes. They’re both incredible people,” Cooper Koch, who played Erik in Monsters on Netflix told The Hollywood Reporter. “I think back then, people just didn’t believe that sexual abuse between males was something that you could believe and the easier pill to swallow was that they killed their parents for money. But now, after so much time, I think people are more open to understanding that something like that did happen.”
Speaking of his love of art, Erik said in The Menendez Brothers on Netflix that he would paint for up to 12 hours a day in prison, and it became an “important outlet” for him. As well as this, Erik has worked with terminally ill inmates. He is interested in meditation and has led religion classes.
Between them, the brothers have been married three times in prison
Both Lyle and Erik Menendez have found wives and have got married whilst behind bars. Lyle married his first wife Anna Eriksson in 1996, and they were together until 2001. They met after she wrote him a letter during his and Erik’s first trial.
In 2001, Anna Eriksson filed for divorce, and cited the reason as being that Lyle had cheated on her – she alleged he had been writing letters to other women without her knowing.
Two years after getting divorced, Lyle married Rebecca Sneed. At the time, a prison spokesman told the Associated Press that Lyle had known his bride for around 10 years. About a dozen friends and family members were witnesses to the wedding, in a maximum security visiting area.
Erik is currently married to a woman called Tammi, who started off as pen pal, and her first letter came to his cell whilst Erik was on trial for the first time. In an interview, Erik said he received “thousands” of letters, but he believes in soulmates and something about Tammi’s “stood out”.
The couple first met in person in August 1997, after corresponding for multiple years. In 1998 Erik proposed, and a year later, the couple married in prison.
Lyle and Erik can read the news in prison, and have contact with friends and family
via Netflix
As of January last year, telephone calls became free to inmates, so there will be no more digging around for dimes as was depicted in Monsters on Netflix, and Lyle and Erik have much more freedom to keep in contact with loved ones.
According to Biography, the state of California began providing tablets to prisoners in August 2021, but the devices didn’t reach inmates in the jail where Lyle and Erik are until June 2023.
The tablets don’t permit access to social media or the internet, but inmates can read magazines and keep up with the news, if they want to. In addition to email and free calls, inmates receive a limited amount of video call minutes and text messages with the option to pay for more.
The Menendez Brothers is available on Netflix now. For all the latest Netflix news, drops and memes like The Holy Church of Netflix on Facebook.
Related stories recommended by this writer:
• The Menendez brothers’ case is officially under review: Here’s what that actually means
• People are dragging Pamela Bozanich for ‘disgusting’ comments in Menendez Netflix doc
• Everything Leslie Abramson has said about the Menendez brothers since representing them
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