Erik Menendez shouldn’t be granted parole 36 years after murdering his mother and father, the California Board of Parole Hearings has determined.
The choice to disclaim Menendez, 54, parole eligibility for 3 years got here after a 10-hour listening to carried out over video convention on Thursday.
It was a crushing defeat for Menendez after a protracted, winding authorized battle during which his attorneys and members of the family had insisted he had been rehabilitated after greater than three many years behind bars for the reason that 1989 shotgun slayings of his mother and father, Jose and Kitty Menendez.
Lyle Menendez, 57, may have his personal parole listening to on Friday; he could win the board’s suggestion for parole the place his brother failed.
If the board decides to advocate Lyle for parole, it is going to have 120 days to conduct a authorized evaluate earlier than submitting the advice to Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, who may have 30 days to affirm or deny it.
As for Erik, not all hope is misplaced: Newsom may nonetheless grant him clemency regardless of the Board’s lack of a suggestion. Protection attorneys for the brothers argued that years of sexual abuse by their father, with the abetment of their mom, led the pair to buy shotguns and kill Jose and Kitty Menendez execution-style in the lounge of their lavish Beverly Hills mansion in 1989.
Attorneys additionally insisted that Erik and Lyle had been mannequin prisoners, stating Erik’s work cofounding a help group for prisoners in hospice care and Lyle’s work as an advocate for victims of childhood sexual abuse.
However Los Angeles District Legal professional Nathan Hochman did the whole lot in his energy to maintain the brothers in jail, calling their self-defense declare an outright lie that proved they confirmed no “perception” into their crimes — a key requirement for parole eligibility.
Perception means taking full duty for against the law and understanding the components that led you to commit the crime, corresponding to anger, incapability to deal with stress, and substance abuse, stated Michael Beckman, a lawyer specializing in parole hearings.
Erik had additionally been cited for a number of rule violations, together with possessing a cellphone and fights with inmates in 1997 and 2011.
Lyle was additionally cited for having a cellphone a number of occasions in 2024, Hochman’s workplace revealed.
“The board is absolutely massive on the philosophy that in the event you can’t observe the foundations in jail, you’ll be able to’t observe the foundations in free society,” Beckman stated. “Add to that that cellphones are one of many three massive unhealthy rule violations together with violence and substance abuse.”
Finally, Beckman famous that parole choices come all the way down to particular person commissioners, who may weigh the brothers’ instances primarily based on components like their superstar standing or members of the family’ help.
The brothers have had superstar standing since their two high-profile trials within the ’90s, however a Netflix documentary concerning the case introduced them again into the highlight final yr.
Former District Legal professional George Gascón filed a proper movement to resentence them, citing new proof of sexual abuse, together with a handwritten observe from Erik to a cousin — dated earlier than the murders — that detailed his father’s actions.
“Whereas we respect the choice, right now’s final result was, in fact, disappointing and never what we hoped for. However our perception in Erik stays unwavering, and we all know he’ll take the Board’s suggestion in stride,” his household stated in a press release.
“His regret, progress, and the optimistic impression he’s had on others communicate for themselves. We are going to proceed to face by him and maintain to the hope he is ready to return residence quickly,” they added.
“Tomorrow, we flip our consideration to Lyle’s listening to. And whereas it’s undoubtedly tough, we stay cautiously optimistic and hopeful that the commissioner will see in Lyle what so many others have: a person who has taken duty, reworked his life, and is able to come residence.”
