Menendez Brothers: Parole Denied

The risk to society and bad behavior in prison were the reasons that led the North American justice system to deny the parole request of the Menendez brothers, sentenced to life in prison for having killed their parents in their home in Beverly Hills, California, in 1989. Erik and Lyle Menendez, who are serving prison sentences in the same prison in San Diego, saw their requests denied this Thursday and Friday, after the authorities considered that the brothers still represented a risk, reports the Reuters agency .

The California parole commissioners' decision was announced after two hearings lasting more than 10 hours each. Erik Menendez, the younger brother, 54, participated via video call, arguing that he had been rehabilitated and that his release would help his family heal. The brothers were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in 1996 and have already served 35 years.

However, parole commissioners assigned to the case concluded there were still signs Lyle Menendez, 57, would pose a risk to the public if released from prison, according to details of the hearing provided to news outlets including Reuters.

The severity of the crime "was not the primary reason for this denial," said Commissioner Robert Barton. "It remains his behavior in prison." The official revealed a series of violations of prison rules, including drug smuggling, cell phone use, and violent incidents that occurred between 1997 and 2011.

The parole request came after the U.S. court reduced the two brothers' life sentences to 50 years in May of this year. The Menendez brothers can apply for parole again within three years, the news agency notes.

Erik and Lyle Menendez were convicted of murdering their own parents in the Beverly Hills neighborhood of California in the United States in 1989 and have been in prison since March 1990. Erik was 18 and Lyle was 21. During their 1996 trial, they never denied the crime, claiming they were victims of sexual abuse by their father and that they acted in self-defense. However, prosecutors argued that the murders were motivated by the goal of inheriting their parents' multimillion-dollar fortune.

The crime, which shocked American society at the time, regained media attention last year after the release of a Ryan Murphy series based on the case, MONSTERS: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story (2024), available on Netflix. Shortly after, a documentary on the subject, The Menendez Brothers, also arrived on the streaming platform.