AP
Erik and Lyle Menendez kicked off the retrial for the murders of their parents on October 11, 1995, just eight days after O.J. Simpson got off for the murder of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman. Looking back, Erik says that acquittal hurt his chances at a fair trial.
After the brothers' first trial ended in two deadlocked juries, the case was retried. Speaking out for the first time in over 10 years from behind bars in A&E's documentary series "The Menendez Murders: Erik Tells All," the convicted murderer addresses the fallout from Simpson's case in an exclusive clip obtained by TooFab.
"O.J.'s acquittal was so shocking to everybody and to the District Attorney's office," he says in the video from Thursday's new episode. "Our second trial started within days of his acquittal. O.J.'s verdict had a very negative affect on our case," he continued, calling it a "darkened time for all court proceedings in Los Angeles."
"Because this verdict was so shocking, there was this sense an extreme injustice had happened and now we're gonna have to right it with every defendant that comes up," added Erik. "We were the next defendant."
The first four hours of the A&E series focused on the events leading up to and the night of the murder, Erik's arrest and their trial. Thursday's new hour will revolve around Erik's testimony, the retrial and the final verdict.
"The Menendez Murders: Erik Tells All" airs Thursdays on A&E, with the finale airing Dec. 28.
