TikTok should not influence our courts

Megan Lee | The Chronicle

On October 24, 2024 the Los Angeles district attorney George Gascón called for a resentencing of the Menendez brothers. 

The brothers, Lyle and Erik Menendez, were sentenced to life in prison in 1996 with no chance of parole after the 1994 murders of their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez. After almost thirty-five years in prison and two hit Netflix releases, the brothers are seeing a new wave of media attention.

The release of both Monsters, a TV series directed by Pete Docter, and The Menendez 

Brothers, a documentary directed by Alejandro Hartmann, have pushed both the media and the Los Angeles judicial system to reconsider the brothers’ life sentence. Many fans of the productions have jumped to social media to state their support for the brothers, with famous names like Kim Kardashian behind the movement. With both productions being released less than a month apart, speculation and rumors turned to reality when Gascón suddenly announced that the Menendez brothers were receiving a retrial in December 2024. 

Regardless of your position on the Menendez brothers case, the circulation of TikTok edits and influencer theories has no place in our justice system. 

I get it. It is easy to fall into the trap of trends and fandoms, but we often forget that even though these true crime productions are severely popular, they are still real crimes and real cases that need to be handled with sensitivity. It can be extremely harmful when these cases are brought back to light and manipulated by the public. 

In my experience, most TikTok scrollers may not grasp the full scope of the case and its many factors. In 1996, the public view of abuse, especially domestic violence, was not nearly as broad or educated. While now as a society we are more open to discussing the depths of abuse, anonymous social media accounts should not be our source of education for such complex matters. 

While it is inspiring that so many viewers feel a connection to this case, I believe that the Menendez brothers should not be given a retrial solely based on virality, but rather on the reevaluation of evidence.

I hope that the Los Angeles judicial system can see the truth in this case, regardless of the media’s opinions. Why is it that we as a society latch on to one particular case when there are countless others that deserve revisiting but do not have the publicity?

Social media is a wonderful tool in many ways, but we should be careful with how we use it. Do not assume that after scrolling through TikTok you will know all there is to know about a topic of this magnitude. When it comes to justice, the media needs to leave it to the courtroom.