After a judge cut their sentences, the Menendez brothers face a parole board next

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This article was published 14/05/2025 (518 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A judge’s ruling made Lyle and Erik Menendez eligible for parole, but they still face multiple hurdles in their fight to be released from prison nearly three decades after they were convicted of murdering their parents in 1989.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic reduced the brothers’ sentences from life without parole to 50 years to life on Tuesday, making them eligible for parole under California’s youthful offender law. The law gives people convicted of crimes committed under the age of 26 the opportunity to be considered for release if they have shown they have matured and been rehabilitated.

The brothers could present their case before a parole board as soon as next month. That’s because they already had a hearing before the board scheduled for June 13 in a clemency petition they had submitted to Gov. Gavin Newsom.

It’s likely that June appearance will also serve as their formal parole hearing, according to David Ring, a Los Angeles trial attorney who’s not involved with the Menendez case.

If parole is granted, it would be up to the governor to approve or deny it.

“And that’s why it kind of merges with the clemency request, because that’s also Newsom’s decision,” Ring said.

The governor hasn’t indicated how he might decide if parole is granted. He said Wednesday that he needs to see what the board recommends but noted that he’s rejected parole in the past. He also said it’s still to be determined whether everything will be combined on June 13.

The shotgun killings of the entertainment executive, Jose Menendez, and his wife, Kitty, in their wealthy Beverly Hills neighborhood were brutal. Their older son, Lyle Menendez, was the one who called 911, with the brothers initially claiming the killing was Mafia-related or connected to their father’s business dealings.

The brothers have argued that they committed the crimes in self-defense after years of abuse by their father.

Here’s a look at what comes next:

What happened at the resentencing?

The brothers’ lawyers turned to family members and those who knew the brothers since their conviction to speak to their character and rehabilitation in prison in front of Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic.

The family called for their release and the judge said he was especially moved by a letter from a prison official who supported resentencing, which the official hadn’t done for any other incarcerated person during his 25-year career.

“I’m not saying they should be released; it’s not for me to decide,” Jesic said. “I do believe they’ve done enough in the past 35 years that they should get that chance.”

Prosecutors, who opposed the brothers’ resentencing, did not call any witnesses. They argued that the brothers haven’t taken full responsibility for their crimes.

Who might testify at the parole hearing?

Ring said it will likely be a “one-side parole hearing in their favor,” because all surviving family members want them to be released.

Typically, it’s relatives of the crime victims, or even the victims themselves, who argue that an inmate should remain behind bars. But there’s nobody related to Jose and Kitty Menendez who want to keep the brothers locked up.

“In this case, it might just be the D.A. who’s saying they should not be released. And the D.A. may not even take that position. They may just sit on the sidelines,” he said.

Anne Bremner, a trial lawyer in Seattle, said the brothers will still have some pressure on them to impress upon the board that they should be freed.

“My guess is the parole board has been watching this and of course they’ve done these risk assessments already,” she said. They know “who these two are, what their alleged crimes were and what they’ve done since the time that they were incarcerated until today.”

What happens if parole is denied or granted?

If they are denied at their first parole hearing, they will continue to receive subsequent hearings until they are granted release.

If the board grants parole, Newsom could still override the board as he did in 2022, when a two-person panel of parole commissioners granted parole to Sirhan Sirhan, who assassinated presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy in 1968. At the time, Newsom said the killer remains a threat to the public and hadn’t taken responsibility for a crime that altered American history.

Newsom earlier this year ordered the state parole board to conduct a comprehensive risk assessment for him to determine the danger to the public if the brothers are released.

If he lets the parole decision stand, the brothers could be released from prison within weeks or months. The brothers would be subject to the conditions of their release, including regular meetings with their parole officers.

The brothers’ attorney Mark Geragos said they have already submitted a “robust parole plan” to the court.

It’s unlikely that they would be sent to a halfway house or required to take part in some other type of reentry program, Ring said. They would be free to live their lives, as long as they follow parole protocols.

Could one brother remain in prison while the other is released?

The brothers have separate hearings and will be evaluated independently of each other.

If one brother was “a troublemaker” in prison and the other wasn’t, it’s conceivable that one could stay locked up while the other is freed, Ring said. But that’s unlikely.

“I think everyone just assumes that they’re a matched pair and it’s either both of them or neither of them,” Ring said. “Because they both have similar records in prison. They appear to have been pretty model citizens. I think they’re both going to be rated as low risk to society.”

What other avenues do they have for release?

In May 2023, the brothers’ attorneys also filed a petition for habeas corpus to the court, asking for a new trial in light of new evidence of their sexual abuse. LA prosecutors have filed a motion opposing that petition, and the defense’s reply is due in about a week, Geragos said. After that, it’s up to the court.

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Associated Press writer Hallie Golden in Seattle contributed.