Lyle Menendez is currently undergoing a parole hearing in California, just one day after a board denied parole for his younger brother, Erik Menendez. The hearings mark the first time the brothers, convicted in 1996 for the 1989 murders of their parents, have been eligible for release after their sentences were reduced in May.
The hearing for Lyle Menendez, 57, is taking place via video link from the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego. The California parole board will review his rehabilitation efforts, disciplinary record, and psychological evaluations before issuing a preliminary decision. A final decision would then be subject to review by the board’s chief legal counsel and, ultimately, by Governor Gavin Newsom, who has the authority to approve or deny parole.
On Thursday, Erik Menendez, 54, was denied parole by a two-member panel after a nearly 10-hour hearing. The commissioners cited his “misbehavior in prison,” including multiple violations for drug use and having a contraband cellphone, as the primary reason for their decision. Despite strong support from family members who have forgiven the brothers and testified to their change, the board found Erik Menendez still posed an “unreasonable risk to public safety.” He will not be eligible for another hearing for at least three years.
The Menendez brothers were initially sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the murders of their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez, in their Beverly Hills mansion. Their sentences were changed to 50 years to life under California’s youth offender law, as they were both under the age of 26 at the time of the crime.