Erik and Lyle Menendez are going to have to wait a little longer for the decision on their potential release from prison.
The infamous brothers — who have been incarcerated for 30 years for the 1989 murders of their parents, José and Kitty Menendez, at their Beverly Hills home — were resentenced earlier this month to 50 years to life, making them eligible for parole. Despite LA County District Attorney Nathan Hochman’s doubts, Judge Michael Jesic determined Erik and Lyle did not pose “an unreasonable risk” if they were to be released from prison.
While their next hearing was initially scheduled for June 13, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation announced that the brothers’ parole hearing dates have been pushed back to Aug. 21 and 22.
Lyle addressed the hearing postponement on Facebook, noting that “it’s a good thing” as it gives their attorneys more time to prepare. “Given the fact that first time parole seekers statistically have a much harder time being granted parole, this gives the guys and their attorneys more time to prepare and gives them the best opportunity to be the exception to the rule! It’s a good thing,” the statement read.
The June 13 hearing was initially for Gov. Gavin Newsom’s clemency review, serving as a piece of the risk assessment exam that would aid in his ruling; however, the hearing was shifted to a parole suitability hearing following the resentencing decision.
“Since the ruling makes them immediately eligible for parole consideration as youth offenders, it is the Board’s intent to convert the June 13, 2025, clemency hearings to initial parole suitability hearings,” Scott Wyckoff, executive officer of the Board of Parole Hearings, said in a statement, per the L.A. Times.
Newsom’s clemency consideration was one of multiple avenues to freedom for the Menendez brothers.
Erik and Lyle also saw renewed public interest in their case thanks to Ryan Murphy’s Netflix series, Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, which released last September and starred Cooper Koch and Nicholas Alexander Chavez as the brothers, respectively.
