Lyle and Erik Menendez will argue for their release when the two come up for review by the California parole board in separate hearings this Thursday and Friday.
The hearings are each expected to last between two and three hours and will take place remotely, with California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) parole board members in the state capital Sacramento and the brothers testifying from the San Diego prison that houses them.
The two have been in the American media spotlight since their 1990s trial and conviction for the shotgun murder of their parents Jose and Kitty Menendez at their California luxury villa in 1989.
The facts around the murder remain murky, with the two initially setting up alibis to cover up the murder before presenting numerous false narratives and Erik, 18 years old at the time, ultimately confessing to the deed while speaking with his therapist.
The two argued that they had acted in self-defense, claiming their father had emotionally and sexually abused them, though prosecutors claimed the boys were simply trying to get their hands on the family’s multi-million-dollar fortune.
Parole board and governor to decide on high-profile case
The trial of the Menendez brothers captivated US television audiences much like the trial. In subsequent years, the story of the killings and the trial became the stuff of television drama, spawning numerous films and series, including “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story” on Netflix.
Sentenced to life in prison in 1996, the two became eligible for parole this May, when a Los Angeles judge reduced that sentence to 50 years to life.
If a parole board panel decides that the men no longer pose “an unreasonable risk of danger to society,” their case will then be reviewed by the CDCR’s chief legal counsel, who has 120 days to rule on the matter.
After that, .
Family and friends say brothers have changed
Celebrities, friends and family in the Justice for Erik and Lyle Coalition, a support group for the two, are calling for their release.
“For more than 35 years, they have shown sustained growth,” their family said in a statement. “They have taken full accountability.”
Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman opposed the Menendez’s May resentencing and is expected to oppose parole as well.
Hochman is by no means convinced that the two have taken responsibility for their actions.
“The Menendez brothers have never fully accepted responsibility for the horrific murders of their parents,” the prosecutor said in a statement Wednesday.
“Instead continuing to promote a false narrative of self-defense that was rejected by the jury decades ago.”
Edited by: Zac Crellin
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