The California Parole Board decided not to release Erik Menendez, 54, younger brother of Lyle Menendez, 57, on Thursday after a review of their life imprisonment for murdering their parents in Beverly Hills in 1989.
As news agencies had reported, the two had received a chance at parole due to public interest in their case:
Erik and Lyle Menendez were sentenced to life in prison in 1996 for fatally shooting their father, Jose Menendez, and mother, Kitty Menendez, in their Beverly Hills mansion in 1989. While defense attorneys argued that the brothers acted out of self-defense after years of sexual abuse by their father, prosecutors said the brothers sought a multimillion-dollar inheritance.
They became eligible for parole after a Los Angeles judge reduced their sentences in May from life in prison without the possibility of parole to 50 years to life, making them immediately eligible under California law because they were under the age of 26 when they committed their crimes.
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A panel of parole hearing officers will evaluate the brothers individually. Erik Menendez will have his hearing Thursday morning, followed by Lyle Menendez on Friday. They will appear over videoconference from prison in San Diego.
The Los Angeles Times reported that Erik Menendez’s attempt at early release was, for now, unsuccessful: “After a nearly 10-hour hearing, the board decided to deny parole to Menendez for three years. He could petition for an earlier hearing.”
A further denial for Lyle Menendez on Friday may let Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) off the hook: he has the final say in the Menendez brothers’ parole, in the event the board grants it, and would likely wish to avoid a tough call as he prepares a presidential run in 2028.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of The Zionist Conspiracy Wants You, now available on Amazon. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
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