Erik and Lyle Menendez were denied parole by a California board this week after decades in prison for killing their parents in 1989 at their Beverly Hills mansion.
During two days of hearings, the brothers were each questioned by panels of two commissioners and asked to speak with complete candor on the abuse they suffered in childhood, their mindsets leading up to and after the murders and various prison transgressions.
The brothers were sentenced to life in prison in 1996 for fatally shooting Jose and Kitty Menendez. The case has long captivated true crime enthusiasts, with the brothers amassing public support in the past year after shows on Netflix renewed interest.
The hearings marked the closest they have come to freedom since their convictions. Despite each receiving three-year denials, they will be eligible to request an administrative review in one year. If granted, they could appear before the parole board again as early as 18 months from now.
Here are takeaways from the hearings:
Having prohibited cellphones is not a minor prison infraction
While it might not seem like a big deal to the nonincarcerated public, commissioners emphasized to the brothers that their use of illicit cellphones cast a shadow on their positive achievements while behind bars.
Cellphones can be used to order hits, move drugs in prison and coordinate attacks on officers, they noted. Their presence meant a correctional officer had to smuggle them in, and a prison gang may have benefited by charging a tax on it, commissioner Robert Barton told 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 said. He said he used it to speak with his wife, watch YouTube, listen to music and watch pornography.
In denying him parole, Barton said his behavior was “selfish,” a sign he believes the rules do not apply to him and the “ends justify the means.”
Lyle Menendez also had two recent cellphone infractions, including one in March.
He said correctional staffers were monitoring his communications with his wife and family and selling their content to tabloids, so he saw cellphones as a privacy measure.
There was “a lot of stress” in his marriage around the time he transferred to the prison in San Diego, and he wanted to stay in touch with his wife, he said.
“I had convinced myself that this wasn’t a means that was harming anyone but myself in a rule violation,” Lyle Menendez said. “I didn’t think it really disrupted prison management very much.”
They have not been model prisoners as some believed
Of the two, Erik Menendez committed more serious rules infractions.
Commissioners questioned why he associated himself with a prison gang called the Two Fivers and helped them with a tax scheme around 2013.
Menendez said he was trying to survive an “extremely violent yard” where close friends were stabbed or raped.
“I was in tremendous fear,” he said. “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 told commissioners that he prioritized protecting himself over the rules because at the time, he had no hope of ever getting out.
He used drugs and alcohol in his early years behind bars but became sober in 2013 on his mother’s birthday, he said.
While Lyle Menendez committed fewer violations, commissioner Julie Garland said he still demonstrated “antisocial personality traits like deception, minimization and rule breaking that lie beneath that positive surface.”
Prisoners who break rules are more likely to do so in society as well, she said.
Why they killed their mother remains a sticking point
Commissioners expressed concerns over the killing of Kitty Menendez, with Barton saying he found that it showed Erik Menendez was “devoid of human compassion” at 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 said. “But that is still concerning, especially since it seems she was also a victim herself of the domestic violence.”
Barton said the brothers were not in imminent fear for their lives and should have sought help from other family members or gone to the police.
As for Lyle Menendez, Garland said shooting Kitty Menendea one final time was extremely “callous.” She also highlighted his actions in covering up the crime, such as lying to the police and trying to avoid prosecution.
Parole denials are not unheard-of for prisoners with ‘moderate risk’
Gov. Gavin Newsom previously ordered the California parole board to conduct a risk assessment of the brothers in response to a clemency request.
While it was never made public, LA County District Attorney Nathan Hochman revealed in May that both brothers were deemed “moderate risk.”
Barton said he deemed that assessment to be neutral, as far as he considered it at all.
A 2022 analysis by the Prison Policy Initiative showed that California prisoners with “moderate risk” were granted parole 22% of the time. The nonprofit ranked the state as among the most difficult for obtaining parole.
Family members back the brothers
More than a dozen relatives spoke at the two hearings to advocate for their release.
Aunt Teresita Menendez-Baralt, Jose Menendez’s sister, said she is dying from Stage 4 cancer and wishes to welcome them home.
“I want to make clear that although I love my brother, I have fully forgiven Erik,” she said. “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 provide a home of “unconditional love and stability” for him in Colorado, where he could spend time with family and nature.
Family members said in a statement that while they are disappointed parole was denied, they are not discouraged.
“We know they are good men who have done the work to rehabilitate and are remorseful,” they said. “We love them unconditionally and will continue to stand by them on the journey ahead.”
