Menendez brothers to plead for freedom at parole board hearings

The Menendez brothers will go before the parole board in separate hearings over the next two days to plead their case that they are no longer a threat to society and deserve to be freed from prison.

The hearings — set for Thursday and Friday — are the latest in a long legal road for the brothers, who were convicted of the 1989 shotgun murders of their parents Jose and Kitty Menendez in their Beverly Hills home.

In May, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic resentenced Erik and Lyle Menendez to 50 years to life in prison, making them eligible for parole.

They originally were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

The brothers and their lawyers convinced Jesic the two no longer were a threat to public safety.

“I think it's pretty amazing what they’ve done,” Jesic said at the time, referring to the brothers' rehabilitation work on themselves and others in prison.

He said he particularly was impressed by the letters he received from correctional officials in support of the brothers.

They’ll now make the same argument to a parole board. Erik Menendez’s hearing is Thursday. Lyle Menendez’s hearing is Friday.

The L.A. County District Attorney’s office is expected to argue against their release.

How parole hearings work

The brothers will appear before a two-person panel of the state Board of Prison Terms during a hearing held at Donovan State Prison in San Diego, where they are held. The panel typically is made up of one full-time commissioner and one deputy commissioner.

Hearings typically last two to three hours but can go longer, and a decision often is announced after less than an hour of closed-door discussion.

According to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, factors tending to show parole suitability include:

• Crime was committed as a result of significant stress.
• Stable social history.
• Remorse and understanding of the nature and magnitude of the offense.
• Present age reduces the probability of recidivism.
• Institutional behavior indicates an enhanced ability to function within the law upon release.

Factors tending to show parole unsuitability, include:

• Offense was committed in an especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel manner.
• Previous record of inflicting or attempting to inflict serious injury on a victim, particularly if serious, assaultive behavior was demonstrated at an early age.
• Unstable social history.
• Lengthy history or severe mental problems related to the offense.
• Serious misconduct while in prison or jail.

The brothers are expected to testify, as are members of the Menendez family. They have the backing of many members of their extended family, who say the brothers have served enough time and are reformed men.

Background on the case

Erik Menendez is now 54 years old. Lyle Menendez is 57. They were 18 and 21, respectively, when they committed the murders in the family mansion.

After their arrest in early 1990, the brothers always claimed they had been sexually abused for years by their father.

They went through two high-profile trials in connection with the killings, during which their attorneys argued the shootings were the result of imperfect self-defense — meaning the brothers shot their parents because they believed genuinely but incorrectly that their lives were in danger.

Prosecutors argued the brothers were motivated by greed.

Ultimately, a jury found each of them guilty of first-degree murder.

Decades later, the brothers' lawyers have described them as model prisoners. They say they have created programs to help other inmates and served as mentors.

Lyle Menendez earned a sociology degree from the University of California, Irvine, through a prison program.

Each of the brothers spoke during the hearing at which they were resentenced.

“I committed an atrocious act,” Erik Menendez said. “I have no justification for what I did.”

He said he’s tried many times to put himself in his parents' shoes the night of the murders.

“I imagine their last moments over and over again,” he said.

The older brother, Lyle Menendez, said he could offer no excuse for his actions that night in August 1989. While making his comments, he also alluded to his and his brother's long-held contention that they were abused by their father and that they committed the murders in a form of self-defense.

“Had I trusted others to help, I would not have committed these terrible crimes,” he said. “I believed nobody would believe me and my brother."

District Attorney Nathan Hochman has argued the brothers have not taken full responsibility for their crimes and continue to pose a danger.

"This case, like all cases — especially those that captivate the public — must be viewed with a critical eye," Hochman said in a statement after a recent hearing. “Justice should never be swayed by spectacle.”

The case has drawn renewed and intense interest after the recent release of a Netflix documentary and a dramatic series.

Former District Attorney George Gascón supported the release of the brothers.

What's next?

At the end of each hearing, the board will be asked to determine whether each brother is "suitable" for parole, according to the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. If the board finds the brothers unsuitable, it will set another hearing in three to 15 years.

Gov. Gavin Newsom has the right to review the panel's decision. He has up to 30 days to approve, reject or amend the recommendation.

In a separate bid for freedom, the brothers have asked Newsom to grant them clemency.