Lyle Menendez expected to have parole board hearing day after brother was denied

CBS News Live

CBS News Los Angeles Live

After the committee denied his member parole connected Thursday, Lyle Menendez volition effort to person a abstracted panel of commissioners to merchandise him aft serving decades successful situation for sidesplitting his parents.

Menendez is scheduled to look virtually from the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility successful San Diego connected Friday.

Erik and Lyle Menendez were convicted successful 1996 to beingness successful situation without the anticipation of parole for murdering their parents, Kitty and Jose Menendez, successful their Beverly Hills home. In May, a judge reduced their sentences to 50 years to life, making them eligible for parole nether California's younker offender instrumentality due to the fact that they were nether the property of 26 erstwhile they committed their crimes. 

The brothers person maintained that they acted successful self-defense aft suffering years of alleged physical, intersexual and affectional maltreatment from their parents. The Menendez brothers' appellate attorney, Mark Geragos, and respective household members person said they judge the brothers person changed aft truthful overmuch clip successful prison. 

Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman has publically opposed the brothers' imaginable release. He believes they person lied astir the alleged maltreatment and person not taken afloat work for their crimes. In a connection helium shared anterior to Erik Menendez being denied parole connected Thursday, helium said that "justice should ne'er beryllium swayed by spectacle," referencing a fig of documentaries and tv shows based connected the brothers successful caller years.

Erik Menendez attends his parole proceeding virtually. California officials denied the convicted slayer parole connected Aug. 21, 2025. California Corrections and Rehabilitation

Erik Menendez's parole hearing

The sheet presiding implicit Erik Menendez's proceeding denied his bid for parole aft a astir 10-hour meeting.

Parole Board Commissioner Robert Barton explained that the sheet understood the gravity of the proceeding but could not urge parole chiefly due to the fact that of Erik Menendez's "behavior successful prison."

"We astir apt spent 4 times much than we bash connected our accustomed mean here," Barton said. "This is simply a tragic case. I hold that not lone two, but 4 people, were mislaid successful this family."  

Barton said helium believed the parole panel's determination would person been antithetic if Erik Menendez had not violated situation policies since 2013. Following the denial, the commissioner listed Menendez's violations, including inappropriate behaviour with visitors, cause smuggling, misuse of computers, compartment telephone usage and incidents of unit successful 1997 and 2011. 

"One tin airs a hazard to nationalist information successful galore ways, with respective types of transgression behavior, including the ones you were blameworthy of successful prison," Barton said. 

Along with Menendez's violations, the sheet besides discussed the brutal murders of Kitty and Jose Menendez. 

Instead of dismissing the alleged abuse, Barton expressed empathy for the brothers and their claims, but argued that they did not person to termination their parents. In hindsight, Barton suggested that the brothers could person near their parents, sought structure with their relatives, oregon gone to the constabulary alternatively than sidesplitting them. The commissioner described the execution of Kitty Menendez arsenic "devoid of quality compassion."

"I can't enactment myself successful your place," Barton said. "I don't cognize that I've ever had rage to that level, ever. But that is inactive concerning, particularly since it seems she was besides a unfortunate herself of the home violence." 

Barton continued, saying that helium and his colleagues "recognize and recognize that galore intersexual battle victims find it hard to travel forward, particularly erstwhile the perpetrators are household members," but noted that victims don't usually termination their abusers.