Los Angeles (AP) – The Menendes Brothers will make their conditional release deeds on Thursday, marking the closest ones they were in prison, as their sentences almost 30 years ago for the murder of their parents.
Eric and Lyle Menendes were sentenced in 1996. Life in prison for the fatal shooting of their father Jose Menendes and Mother, Kiti Menendes, at their Beverly Hills mansion in 1989. While defense lawyers claimed the brothers who were in the way they were a downtown, the bust Multimion-dollar.
They became admissible for conditional release after a judge in Los Angeles in May reduced their sentences from life in prison without the possibility of conditional release to 50 years to life, making them immediately responding under the California law, as they were under the age of 26 when they committed their crimes.
But even if the Council provides conditional release, it may take months before the brothers walk – if at all.
Officers to listen to the hearing will appreciate the brothers individually. Eric Menendes will listen to Thursday morning, followed by Lyle Menendes on Friday. They will appear above the video conference from the San Diego prison.
The Council will assess whether the brothers are an “unjustified risk of a danger to society” if they are released, given factors such as criminal history, motivation for the crime, signs of remorse, behavior while in prison and plans for the future, according to the California Department of correction and rehabilitation.
If the Council provides conditional release to each brother, the chief legal advisor has 120 days to review the case. Then the democratic governor Gavin Newo has 30 days to confirm or deny the conditional complication. Previously, the Newsom ordered the State Council for conditional release to evaluate the brothers’ risk in response to a request for pardon. He did not say if he was likely to support conditional release, but in the past he had denied recommendations in high-profile cases-most about Sirhan Sirhan, who killed President candidate Robert F. Kennedy in 1968.
Eric and Lyle Menendes have the support of their relatives, who are expected to submit statements to their hearing.
“For more than 35 years, they have been showing sustainable growth,” their family says in a statement. “They have taken full accountability. They express sincere remorse of our family to this day and have built a meaningful life defined for its intended purpose and service.”
The case has attracted the attention of the enthusiasts of true crimes of decades and breeds of documentaries, television special offers and dramatizations. Netflix’s drama “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menndez Story” and a documentary, published in 2024, are credited to attract new attention to the brothers. The greater confession of the brothers as victims of sexual abuse also helped to accumulate a legion from supporters seeking their release. Some have flew in Los Angeles to hold rallies and attend court hearings.
The previous district prosecutor of the County LA first opened the door for possible freedom for the brothers last fall, asking a judge to reduce his sentences. The judge’s decision eventually angered that the brothers followed months of retreat by current prosecutors.
LA County District Prosecutor Nathan Hochman said before the hearing of conditional release, that he opposed the conditional release of the brothers, as they “did not demonstrate a complete view of their crimes,” compared them to Sirhan. Newsom refused him conditional release in January 2022 because of his “insufficient insight”.
Insight means full responsibility for a crime and understanding of the factors that made you commit the crime, such as anger, inability to deal with stress and drug abuse, said Michael Becman, a lawyer specializing in a conditional release hearing.
The college degrees of Eric and Lyle, participation in volunteer programs and support groups, and the fact that Lyle was not in any fight in prison are positive factors for their release, he said.
But the latest rules violations can have great consequences for the brothers. In May, Hochman revealed details of a confidential risk assessment report, which says Lyle was cited for having a mobile phone several times in 2024, and Eric was found by mobile phone this January.
“The advice is really big on the philosophy that if you cannot follow the rules in prison, you cannot follow the rules in free society,” Becman said. “Add to the fact that mobile phones are one of the three major bad rules, along with violence and abuse of substances.”
In the end, Beckman noted that conditional release decisions are reduced to individual commissioners who can weigh the brothers’ cases based on factors such as the status of celebrity or support of family members.
The State Department of Correction has selected a media representative to consider the production practically and share notes with the rest of the press at given intervals.