By Jaimie Ding | Related Press
LOS ANGELES — Erik and Lyle Menendez have been denied parole by a California board this week after a long time in jail for killing their dad and mom in 1989 at their Beverly Hills mansion.
Throughout two days of hearings, the brothers have been every questioned by panels of two commissioners and requested to talk with full candor on the abuse they suffered in childhood, their mindsets main as much as and after the murders and numerous jail transgressions.
The brothers have been sentenced to life in jail in 1996 for fatally taking pictures Jose and Kitty Menendez. The case has lengthy captivated true crime lovers, with the brothers amassing public assist prior to now yr after exhibits on Netflix renewed curiosity.
The hearings marked the closest they’ve come to freedom since their convictions. Regardless of every receiving three-year denials, they are going to be eligible to request an administrative evaluation in a single yr. If granted, they might seem earlier than the parole board once more as early as 18 months from now.
Listed below are the takeaways from the hearings:
Having prohibited cellphones will not be a minor jail infraction
Whereas it won’t appear to be an enormous deal to the non-incarcerated public, commissioners emphasised to the brothers that their use of illicit cellphones solid a shadow on their constructive achievements whereas behind bars.
Cellphones can be utilized to order hits, transfer medicine in jail and coordinate assaults on officers, they famous. Their presence meant a correctional officer needed to smuggle them in, and a jail gang might have benefited by charging a tax on it, Commissioner Robert Barton instructed Erik Menendez.
“What I got in terms of the phone and my connection with the outside world was far greater than the consequences of me getting caught with the phone,” Erik Menendez mentioned. He mentioned he used it to talk along with his spouse, watch YouTube, take heed to music and watch pornography.
In denying him parole, Barton mentioned his conduct was “selfish,” an indication he believes the foundations don’t apply to him and the “ends justify the means.”
Lyle Menendez additionally had two current cellphone infractions, together with one in March.
He mentioned correctional staffers have been monitoring his communications along with his spouse and household and promoting their content material to tabloids, so he noticed cellphones as a privateness measure.
There was “a lot of stress” in his marriage across the time he transferred to the jail in San Diego, and he wished to remain in contact along with his spouse, he mentioned.
“I had convinced myself that this wasn’t a means that was harming anyone but myself in a rule violation,” Lyle Menendez mentioned. “I didn’t think it really disrupted prison management very much.”
They haven’t been mannequin prisoners, as some believed
Of the 2, Erik Menendez dedicated extra severe guidelines infractions.
Commissioners questioned why he related himself with a jail gang referred to as the Two Fivers and helped them with a tax scheme round 2013.
Menendez mentioned he was making an attempt to outlive an “extremely violent yard” the place shut buddies have been stabbed or raped.
“I was in tremendous fear,” he mentioned. “When the Two Fivers came and asked for help, I thought this was a great opportunity to align myself with them and to survive.”
Menendez instructed commissioners that he prioritized defending himself over the foundations as a result of, on the time, he had no hope of ever getting out.
He used medicine and alcohol in his early years behind bars, however turned sober in 2013 on his mom’s birthday, he mentioned.
Whereas Lyle Menendez dedicated fewer violations, commissioner Julie Garland mentioned he nonetheless demonstrated “antisocial personality traits like deception, minimization and rule breaking that lie beneath that positive surface.”
Prisoners who break guidelines are extra seemingly to take action in society as nicely, she mentioned.
Why they killed their mom stays a sticking level
Commissioners expressed considerations over the killing of Kitty Menendez, with Barton saying he discovered that it confirmed Erik Menendez was “devoid of human compassion” on the time.
“I can’t put myself in your place. I don’t know that I’ve ever had rage to that level, ever,” Barton mentioned. “But that is still concerning, especially since it seems she was also a victim herself of the domestic violence.”
Barton mentioned the brothers weren’t in imminent worry for his or her lives and will have sought assist from different relations or gone to the police.
As for Lyle Menendez, Garland mentioned taking pictures Kitty Menendez one remaining time was extraordinarily “callous.” She additionally highlighted his actions in protecting up the crime, reminiscent of mendacity to the police and making an attempt to keep away from prosecution.
Parole denials should not unparalleled for prisoners with ‘moderate risk’
Whereas it was by no means made public, LA County District Legal professional Nathan Hochman revealed in Could that each brothers have been deemed “moderate risk.”
Barton mentioned he deemed that evaluation to be impartial, so far as he thought-about it in any respect.
A 2022 evaluation by the Jail Coverage Initiative confirmed that California prisoners with “moderate risk” have been granted parole 22% of the time. The nonprofit ranked the state as among the many most troublesome for acquiring parole.
Members of the family again the brothers
Greater than a dozen kinfolk spoke on the two hearings to advocate for his or her launch.
Aunt Teresita Menendez-Baralt, Jose Menendez’s sister, mentioned she is dying from Stage 4 most cancers and desires to welcome them house.
“I want to make clear that although I love my brother, I have fully forgiven Erik,” she mentioned. “Erik carries himself with kindness, integrity and strength that comes from patience and grace.”
Natascha Leonardo, Kitty Menendez’s great-niece, promised the parole board that she would offer a house of “unconditional love and stability” for him in Colorado, the place he might spend time with household and nature.
Members of the family mentioned in a press release that whereas they’re dissatisfied parole was denied, they don’t seem to be discouraged.
“We know they are good men who have done the work to rehabilitate and are remorseful,” they mentioned. “We love them unconditionally and will continue to stand by them on the journey ahead.”
Initially Printed: August 23, 2025 at 1:06 PM PDT
