What to Know About the Menendez Brothers’ Parole Hearings

Parole panels in California decided this week that Erik and Lyle Menendez should not be released from prison, 36 years after the brothers killed their parents in their Beverly Hills mansion in a sensational crime that later led to a long effort to win their release.

The brothers faced different parole boards, but the outcomes were the same.

On Thursday, a two-person panel denied Erik Menendez parole, citing a series of disciplinary violations in prison that included using drugs, being caught with a cellphone and taking part in a tax fraud scheme.

The next day, a second panel handed Lyle Menendez the same fate, despite the remorse he has expressed and his work for fellow inmates. His disciplinary record in prison appeared better than his younger brother’s, but parole board members cited what they said was a pattern of recent misconduct in prison — including illegally using and selling cellphones. In the hearing he was faulted for persistent “antisocial personality traits,” but praised for showing “potential for change.”

Both panels also touched on the circumstances of the murders themselves. Erik’s panel concluded he was not in “imminent fear” for his life before the murders, rejecting a claim that both brothers have made repeatedly. Lyle’s panel said the killings showed a “remarkable level of callousness and disregard for others.”

The brothers, who were originally sentenced to life without parole for the 1989 killings, were resentenced in May to life with the possibility of parole, setting the stage for this week’s hearings.

The brothers can apply again for parole in three years, though they can petition to come before the board again in as soon as 18 months. They could also seek clemency from Gov. Gavin Newsom of California, or continue their efforts to get a judge to reduce their convictions or grant them a new trial.