Famous prosecutor Marcia Clark remains divided as to whether Eric And Lyle Menendez deserve to be released from prison.

“I’ve thought about it so many times because I don’t know the case,” said Clark, 71, who was thrust into the spotlight during the event OJ Simpson murder trial said during the Monday, December 2 episode Today show. “It was up in the air (the Los Angeles district attorney’s office when I worked there), but I wasn’t involved in it. So I don’t really know any more than the public, so I can’t say what I think should happen.”

After practicing law for decades, Clark could see both sides of the argument.

“Sometimes I think, ‘Hey, those spoiled rich kids shot their parents with a shotgun.’ “I understand that you thought you were in danger with your father – but I’m not sure I believe that,” she noted. “On the other hand, I think they may have been in danger. If they did, they would deserve to be convicted of manslaughter.”

Related: Could the Menendez brothers be released from prison? Appeal process explained

Erik and Lyle Menéndez’s murder case was brought back into the spotlight with Ryan Murphy’s Monsters – and now there’s a chance their lives could be cut short without parole sentences. The Menéndez brothers’ parents, José and Kitty Menéndez, were found dead in their Beverly Hills home in 1989. After Lyle called the police, (…)

Erik, 53, and Lyle, 55, were arrested in 1990 on two counts of first-degree murder after their parents, Kitty And Jose MenendezThey were found shot to death in their home. The siblings later admitted killing their parents after years of alleged physical, emotional and sexual abuse. They were finally convicted in 1996 after two high-profile trials and sentenced to life in prison without parole.

While their previous attempts to appeal the decision were rejected, recent high-profile television projects such as Monsters, The Menéndez Brothers and more, Erik and Lyle seemingly offered a chance at freedom. In October, the Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascon recommended that a judge resentence Erik and Lyle to 50 years in prison, which could allow them to receive probation and parole.

“I don’t think it’s a bad thing to look back on cases. Not me. Because every case – at the time it is heard – is influenced in some way by what is happening to us as a society and our understanding of the issues that may be associated with that case,” Clark said Monday. “Especially when it comes to child abuse. So we bring a more nuanced idea of ​​what was going on. That’s a good thing.”

Clark continued: “It brings us into balance and is probably an argument for doing this to the greatest extent possible.” That doesn’t necessarily mean you change the outcome, and it doesn’t necessarily mean the Menéndez brothers are released . But we now look at it with different eyes. No question.”

Clark says cases like the Menéndez case are “more of a mystery” compared to her work on the Simpson trial because it gives “more” to think about.

Back in 1994, Simpson was named the main suspect after his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman were fatally stabbed outside their Los Angeles home a year earlier.

Simpson was eventually acquitted of murder charges in 1995 after a high-profile criminal trial, but was later found responsible for the deaths of Brown Simpson and Goldman after their families sued him in a civil case. The former athlete died of prostate cancer in April at the age of 76.

During their individual legal troubles in the 1990s, Simpson and the Menéndez brothers crossed paths at the Los Angeles County Men’s Central Jail. Robert RandBook from 2018 The Menéndez murders revealed that Erik Simpson gave advice on his legal strategy and how to deal with the overwhelming media coverage of his trial. Lyle also interacted with Simpson and allegedly advised the athlete to plead guilty in order to reach a plea deal.

Related: “Inside the Menendez Brothers’ History with OJ Simpson After the ‘Monsters’ Scene”

Getty Images (3) Ryan Murphy’s series ‘Monsters’ showed Erik Menéndez giving legal advice to OJ Simpson in prison – but did they actually know each other? In the penultimate episode, released on Thursday, September 19, Erik is seen watching coverage of Simpson’s infamous Bronco chase. Simpson was eventually arrested and taken to the same prison (…)

“I told him I thought the public would understand,” Lyle Rand said in an interview. “I expressed my concern that (lawyer) Robert Shapiro wouldn’t let him tell the truth. I said I knew it was obviously not planned and that he had freaked out in the heat of passion.”

Erik later shared that Simpson’s sentence had “a very negative impact” on her case The Menéndez Murders: Erik tells everything“Because this verdict was so shocking, there was a feeling that an extreme injustice had been done and that we now had to make amends with every defendant that came forward. “We were the next defendants.”