Lyle Menendez revealed his true feelings about his and brother Erik Menendez's lengthy prison sentences in a new, four-part docuseries titled Menendez Brothers: Victims or Villains.
The siblings were found guilty of first-degree murder for the 1989 deaths of their parents, who they claimed had been physically and sexually abusing them for years. They were sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.
"This was never a case about actual innocence," Lyle said in an audio clip from behind bars. "It's always been a case about why this tragedy occurred and how Erik and I can ever reach a place emotionally where such a tragedy could've happened."
"I know as an adult that sexual violence in a household creates a space in which otherwise nonviolent people can do the unthinkable," he continued. "And I think looking back 34 years now, and the trials, Erik and I and our family thought we were going into a manslaughter case with a district attorney that understood the traumatic impact of sexual violence creates in a person."
"We ended up with the same sentence as a serial killer," Lyle added. "And every day we watch people parole. And 34 years later and Erik and I are still watching."
Rosie O'Donnell, who is a longtime supporter of the Menendez brothers, called their life sentence a "gross miscarriage of justice."
"There was a story told that they were trying to fit them into," she explained in another clip. "People believe what they are sold and they were sold that these were rich, psychopathic children and the fact that it’s 34 years later and they’re still in prison..."
"I think it’s time for people to understand what happened," she said. "We were in a culture which still doesn't believe that boys are sexually abused at a very high rate, sometimes by their fathers."
She noted that sexual abuse statistics say that 1 in 3 girls and 1 in 5 boys are sexually assaulted, but clarified that experts believe those numbers are underreported when it comes to people being abused in their own homes by family members.
"This is an unspoken of, shameful epidemic in our country and in our world," the television personality insisted. "And at what point do we as a society go, we were unable to see then, but we see clearly now. We must address this wrong."
Never miss a story — sign up for the OK! newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what OK! has to offer. It’s gossip too good to wait for!
Fox Nation released the docuseries.