California parole board denies release for Erik Menendez due to misbehaviour in prison

Erik Menendez was denied parole by a California board on Thursday that said his continued misbehaviour during decades in prison for murdering his parents with his older brother in 1989 showed he is still a risk to public safety.

Menendez will be eligible again for parole in three years, a panel of two commissioners decided. A parole hearing for his brother Lyle Menendez, who is being held at the same prison in San Diego, is scheduled for Friday morning.

The brothers were sentenced to life in prison in 1996 for fatally shooting their father, Jose Menendez, and mother, Kitty Menendez, in their Beverly Hills mansion.

While defence attorneys argued that the brothers acted out of self-defence after years of sexual abuse by their father, prosecutors said the brothers sought a multimillion-dollar inheritance.

A judge reduced their sentences in May and they became immediately eligible for parole.

Commissioners say Menendez had 'not been a model prisoner'

The commissioners questioned Erik Menendez in an all-day hearing about why he committed the crime and violated prison rules. They rejected parole despite strong support from family members who have advocated for the brothers’ release for months.

“Two things can be true. They can love and forgive you, and you can still be found unsuitable for parole," commissioner Robert Barton said.

Barton said the primary reason for the decision was not the seriousness of the crime but Menendez's behaviour in prison. The repeated use of a mobile phone was “selfish” and a sign of Menendez believing that rules don’t apply to him, Barton said to Menendez, who was clearly visibly hurt by the decision but listened intently.

“Contrary to your supporters' beliefs, you have not been a model prisoner and frankly we find that a little disturbing,” Barton said, questioning if that meant Menendez was not entirely honest with family members about his behaviour.

Prison record and transformation

The panel of commissioners scrutinised every rules violation and fight on his lengthy prison record, including allegations that he worked with a prison gang, bought drugs, used mobile phones and helped with a tax scam.

He told commissioners that since he had no hope of ever getting out then, he prioritized protecting himself over following the rules. Then last fall, LA prosecutors asked a judge to resentence him and his brother — opening the door to parole.

“In November of 2024, now the consequences mattered," Menendez said. "Now the consequences meant I was destroying my life.”

Erik Menendez's parole attorney, Heidi Rummel, emphasised 2013 as the turning point for her client.

“He found his faith. He became accountable to his higher power. He found sobriety and made a promise to his mother on her birthday,” Rummel said. “Has he been perfect since 2013? No. But he has been remarkable."

Commissioner Rachel Stern also applauded him for starting a group to take care of older and disabled inmates.

More than a dozen of the brothers' relatives delivered emotional statements at Thursday’s hearing via videoconference.

Lyle Menendez is set to appear by videoconference Friday for his parole hearing. The brothers still have a pending habeas corpus petition filed in May 2023 seeking a review of their convictions based on new evidence supporting their claims of sexual abuse by their father.