Lyle Menendez faces US parole hearing after brother Erik’s release denied

Lyle Menendez, and his brother Erik, have long said they acted in self-defence

Lyle will appear before a parole panel different from his brother’s, and it is possible he could be freed while Erik remains incarcerated.

They say they were acting in self-defence as a result of their father’s abuse, and have spent years arguing for their release. They were made eligible for parole after they were resentenced in May, shortly after their case regained public attention.

The brothers have spent decades in prison for shooting dead their wealthy parents in a crime that shocked America in 1989.

Lyle Menendez faces a parole hearing in the US state of California on Friday, a day after his younger Erik was denied in his own bid for release.

Relatives of the brothers who support their release said they remained “cautiously optimistic” ahead of the second hearing, having been disappointed by Erik’s denial.

The brothers’ conduct behind bars and before the 1989 killings is viewed differently, meaning that Lyle’s case could elicit a different decision.

Thursday’s parole commissioner signalled that it was Erik’s behaviour in prison, rather than the killings themselves, that informed his decision to refuse.

The news was welcomed by Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman, who opposed the earlier resentencing.

“This ruling does justice for Jose and Kitty Menendez, the victims of the brutal murders,” he said.

Erik was told he could try for parole again at another hearing in three years’ time. He also has at least one other potential route to freedom if the state governor, Gavin Newsom, decides to grant a clemency request from the brothers.

The parole board commissioner Robert Barton, who listened to Thursday’s testimony for more than 10 hours with a panel, said he believed Erik was not yet ready for release.

“I believe in redemption, or I wouldn’t be doing this job,” he told Erik at the end of the hearing, which the prisoner attended virtually from his prison in San Diego. “But based on the legal standards, we find that you continue to pose an unreasonable risk to public safety.”

The board took issue with Erik’s transgressions in prison – including his involvement in violence and his illicit use of mobile phones – as well as the criminal activity he had demonstrated before killing his parents.

“Contrary to your supporters’ beliefs, you have not been a model prisoner and frankly, we find that a little disturbing,” Mr Barton said.

Both brothers have attempted to stress the rehabilitation work they have undergone during their time behind bars.

The brothers shot their parents more than a dozen times during the crime in 1989. During their trials in the 1990s, they claimed the killings were done in self-defence and that they had suffered years of emotional and sexual abuse from their father.

But prosecutors argued that they had meticulously planned the killings, then lied to investigators even as they went on a spending spree with money they had inherited.

Three decades later, the case received renewed public attention thanks to a mix of new evidence, attention on TikTok, a Netflix’s drama series and input from celebrities.