Erik and Lyle Menendez have both been denied parole in California, quashing their hopes that they will be released from prison any time soon.
Erik, 54, was denied parole Thursday, setting the tone for his 57-year-old brother’s hearing on Friday. The action comes 36 years after the two killed their parents in their Beverly Hills home in 1989 in a murder case that gripped a global audience.
The brothers have claimed their father sexually abused them and that their mother knew. Their story has been the subject of several books, documentaries and dramatized adaptations.
They were each sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. But in May, they became eligible for parole after a Los Angeles judge reduced their sentence to 50 years to life.
While Judge Michael Jesic of the Los Angeles Superior Court underscored he was not suggesting that they should be released, he said: “I do believe they have done enough over the last 35 years to get that chance.”
But despite support from Menendez family members, this week’s decisions have put a pin in that possibility for now. The two still have the option to petition to come before California’s parole board in 18 months, or apply for parole again in three years. There’s also the chance California Gov. Gavin Newsom could award the two clemency, which could look like a more lenient sentence or even a full pardon. Newsom did not immediately respond to MSNBC’s request for comment. On Thursday, the parole board panel’s presiding commissioner, Robert Barton, read out a list of Erik Menendez’s alleged violations of prison rules, including drug use, engaging in a tax fraud scheme and using a cellphone. “Contrary to your supporters’ beliefs, you have not been a model prisoner, and frankly we find that a little disturbing,” Barton said.
Erum Salam is a breaking news reporter and producer for MS NOW. She previously was a breaking news reporter for The Guardian.
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