The Menendez Brothers have gained an unlikely ally as their murder conviction, which led to a life sentence in prison, is being reviewed by the city of Los Angeles.

“I have spent time with Lyle and Erik; they are not monsters,” Kim Kardashian penned in a personal essay on NBC News.

Ms. Kardashian’s decision to vouch for the notorious brothers – who are serving life sentences for murdering their parents in 1989,  comes on the heels of the announcement by George Gascon, Los Angeles’s progressive district attorney now in a tight race for reelection, that he’s reviewing the case.  This may be the brothers’ best chance in decades of being released. 

Ms. Kardashian, a hugely popular reality star and influencer, has emerged in recent years as a surprisingly effective advocate for incarcerated persons she feels are worthy of redemption. In 2018, she went to the Oval Office and successfully lobbied President Trump to commute the sentence of Alice Marie Johnson, who had spent over 20 years in prison for a non-violent drug offense. Ms. Kardashian has taken on multiple causes since then and has met with both the Trump and Biden Administrations on a variety of criminal justice issues.. Although she never graduated from high school, she has said she is now working on getting her law degree.

Mr. Gascon’s office say it’s reviewing the case due to new evidence supporting the brothers’ longtime allegations of sexual abuse at the hands of their father and a new state law that enables to asses if inmates have been successfully rehabilitated during their prison terms.

It doesn’t hurt that the hugely popular second season of “Monster” (this time called “Monsters”) on Netflix, from the super producer Ryan Murphy, focuses on Erik and Lyle Menendez

A hearing is scheduled for next month in which Mr. Gascon’s office will present two pieces of evidence for review. One is a letter sent by Lyle Menendez in 1988, a year before the murders, to his cousin, Andy Cano, who died of an accidental drug overdose in 2003, describing sexual abuse by his father. Cano’s mother only found the letter around 2015.  Mr. Gascon’s office will also present allegations from a former member of the 80s boy band Menudo, who says he was also sexually abused by the elder Menendez. 

After recently visiting with the Menendez Brothers at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility last month, she has turned her efforts on their case and is advocating for a reduced sentence.

“My hope is that Erik and Lyle Menendez’s life sentences are reconsidered. We owe it to those little boys who lost their childhoods, who never had a chance to be heard, helped, or saved, ” Ms. Kardashian writes, saying that they have been rehabilitated.

“In prison, they both have exemplary disciplinary records. They have earned multiple college degrees, worked as caregivers for elderly incarcerated individuals in hospice, and been mentors in college programs — committed to giving back to others. When I visited the prison three weeks ago, one of the wardens told me he would feel comfortable having them as neighbors,” she said.

“The killings are not excusable. I want to make that clear. Nor is their behavior before, during, or after the crime. But we should not deny who they are today in their 50s,” Ms. Kardashian also writes. “The trial and punishment these brothers received were more befitting a serial killer than two individuals who endured years of sexual abuse by the very people they loved and trusted.”

She also cites Lyle’s resurfaced letter in which he describes the abuse he and his brother were victims of.

“Had this crime been committed and trialed today, I believe the outcome would have been dramatically different. I also strongly believe that they were denied a fair second trial and that the exclusion of crucial abuse evidence denied Erik and Lyle the opportunity to fully present their case, further undermining the fairness of their conviction.”

The first trial of the Menendez brothers ended in hung juries. In the second trial, however, the judge barred the defense from making the sexual abuse argument, thereby virtually guaranteeing the boys’ conviction. 

In recent years, the brothers have gained an unlikely fan base among Gen Z’ers on TikTok who’ve cited a new understanding about how boys can be sexual abuse victims, and how trauma from that abuse can dog them into adulthood, as reasons they should be released.

“When I saw a clip of Erik testifying about the molestation by his father, I was shocked to say the least,” Jordan Whynn, 24, a paramedic science student in London, wrote in an email to the New York Times, adding he was “disgusted with the way the media at the time and in subsequent years downplayed the brothers’ abuse.”

Many youngsters on the social media site shared his view with videos with the hashtag “#MenendezBrothers” attached, accumulating over 173 million views. Many have raised speculation that the boys were punished by the judge and jury for their good looks, privilege and athleticism — when in fact they were actually deeply traumatized by years of abuse. 

The Netflix show, which gave a highly sexualized portrait of the boys and suggested they were in an incestuous sexual relationship with each other, has been denounced by the real life Menendez brothers from behind bars.

Their teen fans – despite being transfixed by the Netflix show – seem to agree. “I want people to stop sexualizing them and actually focus on the case, because their looks have nothing to do with it,” said Zoe Patterson, 17, from Melbourne, Australia, who made Menendez fan accounts on social media, told the Times. She said she was inspired by reports that they were running therapy groups for other inmates in prison.

“I just want to thank them for inspiring me — not only me, but other supporters as well. I think what they’re doing is absolutely amazing.”