Erik and Lyle Menendez Became Rapper's 'Big Brothers' in Prison: 'The Best Thing to Happen to Me'

X-Raided spoke to Extra about getting to know both brothers behind bars

<p>AP Photo/Nick Ut; K C Alfred/San Diego Union-Tribune via ZUMA/Shutterstock</p> Lyle and Erik Menendez, left, and X-Raided

AP Photo/Nick Ut; K C Alfred/San Diego Union-Tribune via ZUMA/Shutterstock

Lyle and Erik Menendez, left, and X-Raided

A rapper who served time in prison with Lyle and Erik Menendez says the pair looked after him like "big brothers" — and he's glad they're being resentenced.

Rapper X-Raided spoke to Extra after Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón recommended that a judge re-sentence the Menendez brothers, who were sentenced to life in prison for the 1989 shotgun murders of their parents Jose and Kitty Menendez.

In the interview, X-Raided expressed gratitude for Lyle and Erik.

“They were the best thing to happen to me during my term, in terms of education,” the rapper told Extra. “Whether I got out or not.”

X-Raided said he first met Lyle, who he described as a “sturdy person.”

“[Lyle] told me that he thought I was much more than [a gang member] and I had an opportunity to use my voice for things that were more important, more meaningful than just being tough,” X-Raided said. “I thought about that for a really long time and he was one of the first ones to teach me to utilize my influence in a way that would allow me to have a positive outcome.”

Related: What's Next for the Menendez Brothers? Lawyer Says They Could be Home by Thanksgiving

The rapper, whose real name is Anerae Brown, said he met Erik years later when he was transferred to the same facility where the younger Menendez brother was incarcerated at the time. He said Lyle had written Erik a letter in advance of the transfer.

“When I arrived, Erik came looking for me and brought that letter and read it,” X-Raided said. “Lyle told him, ‘This is our little brother, I love him, so you love him, too.’ So, Erik was like, ‘Well, that’s that.’ He took care of me.”

The brothers do not deny that they killed their parents, but have for years maintained that their father sexually abused them while their mother ignored it. Lyle was 21 at the time of the killings, while Erik was 18.

The infamous case has been back in the public eye with the recent releases of Ryan Murphy’s Netflix show Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story and a Netflix documentary.

On Oct. 24, Gascón announced that he will ask that Lyle and Erik be sentenced to 50 years to life in prison with the possibility of parole. Since both were younger than 26 at the time of the killings, they would be considered "youthful offenders," making them immediately eligible for parole.

X-Raided, who has since been released from prison, said he is optimistic that the brothers will be freed.

“People do change, people do grow, and 18-year-old, and 21-year-old, now being in the 50s, are not the same people they were before,” X-Raided said. “They are who they are, they are very helpful, they serve others which is exactly what we want people to do in society and I believe they will be contributing members of society.”

If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, text "STRENGTH" to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.

For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on People.