A tale of a rug: justice as soap opera (2). (televised murder trial of Erik and Lyle Menendez) (American Survey)

Economist (US), The, January, 1994

The trial of Erik and Lyle Menendez, charged with murdering their parents, has attracted a wide audience on Court TV. The brothers, who stand to inherit a $14-million fortune, claimed they had been abused by their parents for years.

THEY bit their lips and wiped their eyes. The muscles of their cheeks quivered, and they showed an interesting pallor under the television lights. Lyle and Erik Menendez, brothers, were defendants on trial for murdering their parents. And they were also television stars. As if the bizarre details of their case belonged to "Perry Mason" or "L.A. Law", viewers scrambled to take sides about them, and stickers declaring support--or condemnation-- appeared on car-bumpers everywhere.

This trial, together with at least 174 others since...

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