All language subtitles for Law.and.Order.True.Crime.S01E06.1080p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DDP5.1.H.264-NTb_track3_[eng]

.

[dramatic music]

*

- You lied to me.
- Jamie, please.

- You killed your parents!

- It will be your job
to decide

what kind of killing this is.

- And we will prove
that it was done out of fear.

- Based on our evidence,
it will become apparent

that this murder
was unjustified

and wholly premeditated.

- Do you think other kids

get massages from their dad?

- I didn't really get
what he was trying to tell me.

I was too young.

- What other behavior
did you notice?

- All right, I'm gonna end

this line of questioning,
right now.

- Your Honor,
I move for mistrial.

- Motion denied.

- Once my boys take the stand,

they will see the connection

between the abuse
and the killings.

I will make them see it.

- I just wish you
could say the things,

and then I'll just say
"yes" or "no."

- That's called
"leading the witness."

It's not allowed.

- We don't want Grandma
in the courtroom for any of it.

She shouldn't hear it.
It'll hurt her.

- She won't be there.
We talked to your aunt.

- [sighs] I wish I could just
write it down

instead of saying it
out loud.

[sighs]

- Oh, my God, Erik.
You are so tense.

Did you take your Xanax
this morning?

- [sighs]
No.

- Erik, you made me a promise.

Did you bring any with you?

- I just--I feel nauseous,
Jill.

I feel like I'm gonna throw up.

- Take some deep breaths

and I'll get you some water.

It'll help settle your stomach.
Okay?

- They are not ready.

It's show time,
and they are not ready.

[breathes deeply]

- [sighs]

- We had a puppy at the time,
when I was six.

Her name was Tristesse.

I remember her and my dad
playing outside

and me running out.

Here, pup, pup, pup!
- [laughs]

[dog barking playfully]

[Jose growling playfully]

It was a good memory.

- Do you have a good memory
of your mother?

- Yeah. I remember her
taking care of the birds

that would hit the windows

and be, like, hurt
in some way.

- Get him all fixed up.

Oh.

- She was just amazing
with the birds.

- And at this point,

did sports become
an important part of your life?

- Yes.

They were everything to my dad.

That's what made him happy,
and that's what I wanted to do.

- Why did you want
to make him happy?

- So he would love me.

- Did you love
your mom and dad?

- Yes.

- And on August 20th, 1989,

did you and your brother
kill your mother and father?

- Yes.

- What do you believe
was the originating cause

of you and your brother

ultimately shooting
your parents?

- Um...

Me telling...

[foreboding music]

*

[breathes deeply]

- You telling what?

*

- Me telling Lyle that...

[breathes deeply]

*

[sighs, sniffs]

- Was it you telling Lyle
that something happened?

- [sniffs]
My dad...

My dad...

- Your Honor,
can I ask a leading question?

- No, no, he's in the process
of answering.

There's no need.

- Can you answer the question?

- Yes.

- Okay.

It was you telling Lyle...
what?

*

- That...
[chokes]

m-my dad had been molesting me.

[cries]

[mournful music]

*

- Did your dad
used to have talks with you

about sex between men?

- Yes.

It started when I was six,

after sports practices.

- All through history,

men going into battle

or competitions

would have sex together

to form a stronger bond.

Greeks, Romans,

samurais.

[uneasy music]

Do you like the special time
with your dad, Erik?

*

- At first it was just

the legs and butt,

and then he...

started massaging my penis,

and he made me do the same
to him.

- What was he like
during these sessions?

- At first, he was great.

He--he had never been so caring

and I loved that.

I wanted him to love me.

- You said "at first."

Did that change?

- [breathes deeply]

[uneasy music]

*

- If you tell anyone,

I will kill you.

- Do you recognize
the children in these photos?

- That's me,
with the mole there.

And that's Erik.

It's around Erik's birthday.

Dad took photos of us
bending over and stuff.

- Did he do other things
to you?

- He got more involved.

When I was, uh, seven, he would

put me on my knees and...

and I would have oral sex
with him.

We'd have what we call
the "object sessions," and...

he would...

stick a toothbrush

in my anus.

And then he used
something else.

- What was it?

*

- He raped me.

- Did you cry?

- [cries]

Yes.
- Did you bleed?

- Yes.

- Were you scared?

- [cries]
Yes.

- Did you ask him not to?

- [breathes raggedly]

I just told him
I didn't want to do this

and that it hurt me

and he said he didn't mean
to hurt me, that he--

that he loved me.

- And that was important
to you, that he loved you.

- Yes.

Very.

- And during this period,

did you do something
to your brother?

- [cries]
God...

I took him out to the woods.

I took a toothbrush...

[cries]

And...
Oh, God...

I played with him
in the same way.

*

Oh, God, Erik, I'm so sorry.

I'm so sorry.
I'm so--

I'm so sor--

Oh, God.

*

- Do you remember
telling anyone about the abuse?

*

- Mom...

Dad's touching me
and doing things down there.

I want him to stop.

- Don't exaggerate, honey.

Your father's
just punishing you.

That's what fathers do.

- Mom...

I want Dad to stop it.

- Don't let your father
see you like that.

Put some drops in your eyes,

and don't cry at dinner.

- When I was 11, he...

had anal sex with me.

- What was he like
during those encounters?

- He was still nice
at that point.

He would stop if I said
he was hurting me.

- Did he stay nice?

- No.
[sniffs]

When I was 12,

he wanted me to be in pain.

*

He...

would stick needles
into my legs and butt.

[child crying]

[ominous music]

[cries]

- My father stopped
when I was ten.

- Ah!

- Was that the end

of your sexual abuse
in the home?

- No.

*

- [sighs]

*

[whispering]
Right there.

*

Could you press
a little harder?

- My mother was very loving
when I touched her,

but when I was 13,
I stopped going into her bed.

- How did she respond?

- She turned on me.

She started picking on me
verbally,

wishing I was dead.

- Were you aware
of any other abuse

going on in your home?

- I thought my father
was abusing Erik.

- Did you decide
to do something about it?

- I decided to confront my dad.

[eerie music]

Dad...

I-I know what's going on
with you and Erik.

I heard noises, and...

I want you to leave him alone.

*

- [scoffs]

Erik makes up things sometimes.

*

But okay, it'll stop.

You tell anyone, I'll kill you.
You understand?

*

- [gasps]

[disquieting music]

- If you talk to Lyle
about this again,

I will tie you to a chair

and beat you to death.

[breathes deeply]

- Ah!

But he didn't stop.

He just got worse.

And he was doing
all kinds of sex to me.

- Over the years, did you give

those different types
of behavior names?

- Yes.

Oral sex was "knees."

There was "nice sex"
and "rough sex."

And...

And then there was just "sex."

- It was some form of
intercourse?

- Yes.

I felt sick all the time,

and when I was 17,

I just didn't want it anymore.

I just...

was in a bad state that day,

and he...
walked into my room

and I said "no," and...

he threw me on the bed
and went to get a knife

and he put it at my throat

and he raped me.

- Before your father died,

in August of 1989,

when was the last incidence
of what you called "sex"?

- [sighs]

In May of 1989.

- And the last incidence
of "knees"?

- In August, 1989,
in my bedroom.

I used to have
this rescue fantasy, but...

no one ever came
to rescue me.

No one except my brother, Lyle.

*

[sighs]
- We'll take a short recess.

Witness can step down.

*

- And that's
how murderers are made.

.

- All of this
squeezing and patting--

Lawyers are not nursemaids
or surrogate mothers.

If you wanted to engage
in that conduct,

you should've gone into
another line of work.

- "Another line of work"?
Because I'm a woman?

- That makes
no difference to me,

but if you're gonna represent
your gender in my courtroom,

you'll do so by my rules.

- I don't represent
anyone but my clients,

but fine, I will take
the court's cue.

- Good.
Proceed.

- Now, Erik,
over the summer of 1989,

did you have any hope or dream

for an improvement
in your life?

- Uh, I was going to college.

I applied to something
like 13 colleges.

- Did you get accepted
to any of them?

- Uh, Brown was interested.

I'd get a tennis scholarship.

Uh, it was all I thought about.

It was everything in my life.

- And what happened?

- Dad said he wouldn't pay
for Brown,

or any schools out of state,

and then I got accepted
to UCLA,

and I wanted to live
on campus in a dorm.

- You can have a dorm room,

but I want you home
four nights a week

so I can review your work.

- But I can go back
to the dorm to sleep?

- No.

[dramatic music]

You'll sleep here,
four nights a week,

or I'm not paying for this.

*

- I knew for sure then:

the sex--
it was never going to end,

and I felt
the hope that I had was gone.

- Did you contemplate
any other plan?

- Um... I planned
to kill myself.

I--I thought I was a coward.

I hated myself for it,

and... I got a razor blade
and held it against my wrist,

but I didn't have the guts.

- How long
before your dad died,

this happen?

- It was about ten days before.

- Did you consider
talking to anyone

about your situation?
To Dr. Oziel?

- No, he would just
tell my parents. Uh, no.

I thought of telling Lyle.

I thought--I thought
I couldn't do that.

I thought it would be
too embarrassing to admit it.

- And did anything happen
to change

your attitude about that?

- Yes.

- Mom, please.
- You don't need it.

- I need it.
- I don't care what you want,

but you're not having it.

- Please, Mommy! I need it.

It's not that big of a deal.

No! It's important to me!

- Who do you think you are?

- Ow!
- You don't need

a goddamn hairpiece!

Look.

See? You look fine.

[muttering]
You don't need a hairpiece...

[dramatic music]

*

- I was shocked.

I didn't know Lyle's hair
wasn't real.

It made me feel like
I could tell him

about the stuff with Dad.

It made him more approachable.

[dramatic music]

Lyle...

- What?

- Lyle, I need to talk to you.

- What do you want?

- I--I...

- What?

- Lyle, um...

that stuff with Dad
is still going on.

*

- Do you like it?

- [breathing heavily]
Of course I don't like it.

I hate it
and I want to kill myself.

- Whoa, whoa, okay.

I believe you.
All right?

- [sobs]
- Hey. Hey.

We'll figure something out.

We decided that

I'd talk to our father
and I'd make a deal.

I told Erik, you know,
"We hold all the cards.

We could ruin him with this."

I know what's going on
with Erik, and it needs to end.

*

- You listen to me.

What I do with my son
is none of your business.

Just stay out of it.

Don't throw your life away.

Go back to Princeton

and we'll forget
this conversation took place.

- You're a sick person.

You're not touching Erik again.

I'll tell everyone.

*

[gasps]

*

- We all make choices in life.

Erik made his,
and now you've made yours.

*

- I thought Dad had no choice,
that he would kill us.

*

- Hey, what's wrong?

- You betrayed me!

Lyle thinks he can ruin me.

It's never gonna happen.

*

- Mom.

Mom!

Dad is still doing things
to me.

He's molesting me.

- I've always known.

[dramatic music]

*

Do you think I'm stupid?

*

[dramatic musical tone]

*

- Dad just tried to attack me.

He said he's not going
to let you ruin him.

I think they're gonna kill us.

Lyle, Mom bought another rifle
this summer.

They have two rifles
in their bedroom.

- We need to get out
of this house.

- And go where?
I'm not gonna just run away

and let Dad find and kill me.
That's crazy.

- Why?
- Dad is powerful.

Look who he is.
Look who Mom is.

There's nowhere we can go
where they're not gonna

just find us and kill us.
Lyle--

- Let's just go
to the police, then.

- The Beverly Hills police?
- Yes.

- You think they're gonna
believe us over him?

Dad is a rich guy
with a lot of power.

I'm nothing!

They're not gonna protect us.

No one's going to protect us.

Jesus...

They're gonna kill us.
Look at him...

- My brother felt that
no matter what we did,

Dad was too powerful.

Erik was never gonna leave,

and I wasn't gonna
leave without him,

so we decided
to protect ourselves.

- We needed a driver's license
to get the guns.

Uh, Lyle had his suspended
in May,

and I didn't have mine
with me,

so I used one Lyle gave me
to get into clubs.

It was his roommate's.

I put mine in my room,
under my bed.

- Did you speak to your parents
when you got home that Friday?

- Yes. Mom, right away,
came and said that

Dad wanted us to go
on this fishing trip

with them the next day.

- And what conclusion
did you draw from this?

- Uh...
We thought that

they were gonna kill us
on the boat.

- I felt less and less
in control of it,

that Erik was gonna
do something

to bring it to a confrontation.

- So Saturday,
we drove around all day.

The plan was
to get home too late,

that they would have to
go without us.

[ominous music]

But they waited for us.

*

We had no choice.
We had to go.

The whole time, we stayed
at the front of the boat,

away from our parents,

and I--I was terrified.
I thought we might die.

I thought my dad could do it,
like he said he would,

and nobody would stop him.

- And when you returned home
that night,

did you talk to your parents?

- Yes.

[ominous music]

- If you'd kept
your mouth shut,

things would've worked out
in this family.

- I thought she meant
we were over as a family,

that Lyle and I
were going to be killed.

She'd given that away...

*

And I went right to my room.

[lock clicks]

*

[frantic knocking]

- Open the damn door!

[frantic knocking]

Open this damn door, Erik!

Erik, open this door, now!

[knocking]

Okay, but you're gonna have to
come out of this room tomorrow.

- The next day, Sunday,

I woke up and went
into the house.

Hello.

I decided I'd go in
and try to sort of

see what the atmosphere
was like.

[uneasy music]

*

Hey, uh, Dad, do you--
do you have that number to

the Anand Amritraj tennis
camp in Marina Del Rey?

I was thinking I might go.

- What does it matter anymore?

[turns up TV]

[indistinct sports commentary
over TV]

- I thought it was
his sarcastic way of saying,

you know, "No point
talking about tennis

because you'll be dead
by then."

- Did you have
any other conversations

with your parents that Sunday?

- Yeah.
My brother and I tried

to go to a movie that night.

We're going, Mom.

- You're not going out.

- Why not?
- Because I said so.

- Shut up, Kitty!
You're not going out.

Erik, go up to your room.
I'll be there in a minute.

[ominous music]

*

- No!

You're not touching
my little brother,

not ever again.

- I do what I want
in this family.

Erik is going to his room,

and you're not leaving
this house.

- You ruined this family.

- Hey, come on.

Come on.
Don't waste your time.

*

- They'd never closed
the doors before,

and there was no reason
to make us

stay home that night,

and...

I-I thought it was happening,
right then.

- I thought they were armed.

I thought they had made a plan

and were in the process
of killing us.

- And we got our guns,
we went out to the car...

*

[somber orchestral music]

We thought they would
come out of the den with guns

any second.

*

We just burst through
the doors...

*

[gunshot]

[gunfire]

.

- Beverly Hills emergency.

- Uh, yeah, yes, please. Uh...

- [anguished] No!
- What's the problem?

- Uh... Uh...

- What's the problem?

- Somebody killed my parents.

- What? Who?

- Uh...
- Are they still--

- On the 911 tape,
are you crying?

- Yes.

- And were you also lying
on that call?

- I was.

- So you're capable of crying
and lying at the same time?

- Your car at the time
was a Ford Escort.

Did you buy a brand-new Jeep
after killing your parents?

- I did, but--
- So, is it fair to say

that killing your parents
made it possible

for you to achieve
a certain lifestyle?

- We thought
we were disinherited.

We were concerned
that we would get nothing

if our parents died.
- Nothing?

Never occurred to you
to get a job?

- Objection, Your Honor.
My client wasn't asked

if he'd intended to get a job.

- Overruled.

- Really?
- Really.

- Did you love your mother?
- Yes.

- And when you put
the gun to her cheek and fired,

was that love?

- It was confusion and fear.

- You almost got away with it.

- Object--
- You know, you characterize it

that way,
and you think it's funny,

but my brother's and my life
were very miserable

for six months
before we got arrested,

and our lives aren't good now.

They never really
have been great.

In some ways, getting arrested,

for my brother,
was a relief.

We may go off to prison,

but, you know,

some good things
have come of it.

[ominous music]

*

[reporters clamoring]

- Pam, what did you think
of their testimony?

- I thought their testimony
was compelling,

just like I think watching
Sir Laurence Olivier act

is compelling.

- I don't think

the general public
listening to this

will agree with Pam.

Anyone in this community

who's been impacted
by sexual abuse

will have a very different take
than hers.

- People who have been
psychologically traumatized,

by sex abuse, for example,

have a faster biological
response to fear

than someone
who's never been traumatized.

They also exhibit something
called "hypervigilance,"

where they're constantly
searching their own environment

for anything that might be
dangerous.

- And did you find those traits
in Lyle Menendez?

- Yes.
- And can these traits

lead someone to have a sincere,
but unreasonable,

belief that their life
is in imminent danger?

- Yes.
- Thank you. Nothing further.

- Approach, Your Honor?

Your Honor, since the defense

put the defendants' mental
state at issue,

the People request the court
unseal the December 1989 tape

of the defendants' session
with Dr. Oziel.

- The California Supreme Court

ruled that tape
was inadmissible,

due to patient-therapist
privilege.

- That no longer applies.

Your clients waived
confidentiality

when they tendered
their mental condition

as the centerpiece
of their defense.

Tape is in.

- Your Honor,
you can't overrule

the California Supreme Court.

- Just watch me.

I'll be unsealing the tape.

[ominous music]

*

- It'll be an issue
for appeal.

- It's too late. Have you heard
those tapes lately?

Oziel, the great Satan,

leading our boys into saying
whatever it is

he wants them to say
so he can blackmail them.

- Well, they both sounded,

especially Lyle,
so cold-blooded.

- I know.

Even though there's a reason
for it, it is bad.

- [over TV] With thousands
of Halloween revelers

dressing up as the infamous
Menendez brothers,

some to show their support.

- The Menendez brothers
are survivors, man.

That's all
they're guilty of.

- Yeah, yeah!
- That's right.

- Anyone who's ever been
raped or abused

knows that Erik and Lyle
are the real victims.

- Yeah!
- Yeah!

- Well, at least we have
the support of one community.

Screw Weisberg.

We win by being honest,

by not turning away from
the truth.

- Ms. Abramson,
what are you doing?

- If the tape is in,
it's in, Your Honor,

but the defense will present it
to the jury.

- Your Honor, objection.

- It is my prerogative,
Your Honor.

- Overruled, Ms. Bozanich.
Proceed.

- This tape was recorded
on December 11th, 1989,

by Dr. Jerome Oziel.

On it, you will hear his voice,
along with the voices

of Erik and Lyle Menendez.

- How much did you feel
that you were killing your dad

because of what he was doing
to you each,

and how much did you feel
you were killing your dad

in part because of what
he did to your mom?

- My father should be killed.
There was no question,

based on what he was doing
to my--

to my mother.

- Erik, Lyle's doing
all the talking.

Do you have anything
to say on this?

- My father and my mother
were two people I loved.

Doesn't matter
what they actually were.

I would've taken
any other choice.

I may not have had
a choice at the time,

but I regret it now.

- I think Erik's biggest pain
is that

you miss having
these people around.

I miss not having
my dog around,

if I can make
such a gross analogy.

[desolate music]

- No emotion.

He might as well have been
cutting steak.

- Let's get Mama out of here.

- She knows what she heard.

- Mama knows more
than you think.

- You're right, Jill.
The tape doesn't mention abuse,

but it also doesn't say
that they killed for money.

They were trying very hard

not to tell Oziel
about the abuse.

Oh, that's--
I think that's the call.

Uh, hello?

Yes, this is Leslie.

Uh, yes, we'll be right there.

[emotional music]

[breathes deeply]

*

Oh, I want to see him
so badly.

- We have to wait till
she signs the papers.

*

- Oh...

- Would you like to meet
your new son?

- Yes.
[laughs breathlessly]

.

- Ay, mira.
- So handsome.

- He took seven hours
to come out.

- Oh, he's beautiful.

- Oh, Leslie, he's so precious.
- His name is Aidan.

- Oh, that is such a nice name.

- This is my baby.

- All rise!

- Judalon, there was
$14 million involved in this,

but you did what you did,
and that's what you did.

- And what do you think
Dr. Oziel meant?

- No. Shut up.
- That the brothers

were very rich and that
Jerry--

Dr. Oziel--
was in the position

to get a lot of money
out of them,

and now he wasn't...
- Shut up, shut up, shut up!

- Because
they'd been arrested.

- Thank you.
Nothing more.

- Miss Smyth,

you stated earlier
that you went to Dr. Oziel,

wanting to be married
and to have children.

Hasn't it been your
primary motive in all of this

to strong-arm Dr. Oziel
into marrying you?

- Incorrect.
- You did testify

that you wanted
marriage and children.

- I did not want children
who looked like Dr. Oziel.

[laughter]

- You...bitch.

Our children
would have been gorgeous.

*

- Ms. Pisarcik, is there
anything you'd like to say

concerning Erik's testimony
about his brother's hairpiece?

- Erik knew about Lyle's toupee
long before the murders.

We laughed about it
in the spring or early summer

of 1989,
when I visited Lyle in LA.

- Let me take you now
to the months

after Lyle Menendez's arrest
in 1990.

Did he ask you to do
some research for him

at the Santa Monica courthouse?

- Yes, he asked me
to look up law cases.

He gave me the names
and numbers

of cases with child molestation
where the kids

had killed their parents
and gotten off.

It was at that point

that I began to doubt
Lyle's innocence.

- Thank you.
Nothing further.

- What months
would you consider

spring and early summer?

- I'd say March through June.

- You were waitressing
in New Jersey

during those months, correct?

- Yes, but I visited Lyle
in LA.

- See, I have here
your timecards.

You worked six days a week.

When did you find time
to fly to Los Angeles

and joke with Erik
about Lyle's toupee?

- I'm not sure.

- All right, I'll move on.

When you did legal research
for Lyle

at the Santa Monica courthouse,

what books did you use?

- I'm not sure I remember.

- Uh, was it a book like this,

with the cases
and judges' opinions?

- Yeah, just like that one.

- How many published cases
did you find

in which molested children

were acquitted
of killing their parents?

- Maybe three?

- Now, you see,
that's not possible.

Did you know...

that only convictions are
published in these books,

not acquittals?

[dramatic music]

*

[phone ringing]

- Hello. Lansing residence.

Oh, hi!

Who's there?

Orange who?

[laughs] That's funny.
Mommy.

- Mm?
- It's Lyle.

- You're telling Lila
knock-knock jokes again?

[laughs]

The summation is going well.

I'm halfway through
the third draft.

I like that.
I'll try to work it in,

but, Lyle,
please get some sleep.

I need you relaxed tomorrow,
okay?

Good night.

- Dominick Dunne
has lost his mind.

- Shh, shh, shh.
- Listen to this:

"If Jose did stick
needles and tacks

into his son's thighs
and buttocks..."

- Sh-sh-sh.
- "Didn't Erik bleed?

"Didn't he have scabs?

"I tried sticking a thumbtack
into my buttocks

and I bled."
- Shh.

- Dominick Dunne sticking
a tack in his scrawny butt--

that's a lovely image.

[baby fusses]

He's the best.

Reminds me why I do this.

[dramatic music]

*

[baby fusses]

*

[makes kissing noises]

*

.

- This is why we're here.

We're not here
to try Jose and Kitty Menendez

for being bad parents,
or Jose Menendez

for being
an alleged child molester,

and we're certainly not here

in the malpractice trial
of Dr. Oziel.

We're here
because the defendants

did this
to their parents.

- In 1989, these brothers
were not intimidated children,

but selfish, greedy,
arrogant men.

Erik was afraid, all right.

Afraid he'd have to
get off his butt and work,

like all the rest of us.

- Even if you believe in
the child abuse,

it doesn't mean Lyle Menendez
is not guilty

of cold-blooded,
first-degree murder.

- Put yourself in that room.

Think about
what it smelled like,

felt like,
in that darkened den.

Only one verdict is possible.

Erik Menendez is guilty

of two counts
of first-degree murder.

[dramatic music]

- The defense isn't
asking you to say

that what these brothers did
was right, or even reasonable,

but if you believe
they were genuinely afraid,

the crime they're guilty of
is manslaughter.

These crimes weren't planned.

They used the loudest guns
they could buy

on a summer's night,
when their neighbors

had their windows open.

They made no plan
to dispose of the guns

and the bloody clothing,

and they left shotgun shells
in the car

and parked the car
in front of their house

when they went to call
the police.

After a lifetime of terror,
these children were terrorized.

After a lifetime of threats,
they felt threatened.

It may be hard
for you to believe

that these parents,
Jose and Kitty Menendez,

would have killed their sons,

but is it so hard
to understand

why these children
would believe

that their parents
would kill them?

*

- These photographs,
tragic as they are,

were put here
by the prosecution

for no other reason

but to so inflame you
against the defendants

that you would forget to ask
the most important question:

why did this happen?

I look at these photos,
and I ask

"Where are the photos
of Jose Menendez

"bending his 12-year-old son
over the bed

"so that he can...

"go all the way,

in spite of Erik's screams?"

There is such a picture.

Unfortunately, it only exists
in Erik's mind.

I cannot show you the photos

of the crimes Jose Menendez
committed against Erik,

but you heard
some of the things

he liked to do
to his little boy,

and one of them
was to take tacks like this

and stick them in his thighs...

and his butt...

and to run needles
along his penis.

[uneasy music]

*

There is one issue
facing the jury:

viewed through
his entire life,

based on what happened
that week,

is it possible

Erik and his brother
honestly believed

that their parents
were going to kill them?

I don't ask you to pity Erik,

but I do ask you
to understand

how his childhood

put him on a collision course
with violence.

[dramatic music]

*

I want to tell you a story
from my life.

When I was a child,

my mother hit me
with a wooden coat hanger.

I was so mad, I hit her back.

Was the scariest thing
I have ever done in my life,

but it happened in an instant,

from a wellspring
of panic and fear,

like this panic and fear.

*

- Lyle protected
his little brother.

If he had protected
his little sister named Erika,

would it make a difference
to you?

It shouldn't.

I ask you not to turn away
from the pain

and to see it for what it was

and what it did
to Lyle Menendez.

I ask you to return a verdict
of involuntary manslaughter.

*

- I apologize if I...

can't just wind it up
and sit down.

I don't want to let go of Erik.

I have had him in my hands
all this time,

and now I have to
give him up to you.

*

You know, if people
were to ask me,

after three and a half years

of thinking about Erik
every single day,

what it is I want
out of this...

I want to see him
walk down the street...

*

not in chains or shackles.

To fulfill my dream,

you would have to come in
with a verdict of "not guilty."

*

[sighs]

If you don't feel
you can do that,

I would ask that you come in
with a verdict

of involuntary manslaughter,

because I believe
that's what the evidence shows.

*

- Thank you.

- You've had him a long time.
How 'bout I take over?

- Tonight?
No, not a chance.

It's been six hours.
We haven't heard a peep.

- You don't really expect
a quick verdict, do you?

- Your friend
in the deputy's office--

maybe he heard something
from his buddies in Van Nuys?

- Les...

You gotta at least
take this night off.

It's out of your hands.

I know how you hate that.

- Yeah.

[sighs]

[dramatic music]

Oh.

Oh, look, Aidan.

We have five stars out tonight.

That's almost a record
for LA.

*

Oh...

Let's you and me

say a little prayer together,
okay?

*

[dramatic music builds]

*

.

[dramatic music]

*

[wolf howling]