Menendez Brothers Win Early 2027 Parole Hearing
Menendez Brothers Win Early 2027 Parole Hearing
The News
Erik and Lyle Menendez, convicted in 1996 of murdering their parents, were granted an early parole suitability hearing on Monday — tentatively scheduled for March 2027.
The brothers had previously been eligible to apply for a hearing with the California Board of Parole in August 2028. The new date moves their next shot at freedom up by more than a year.
Fox News reported the hearing was moved up under provisions of Proposition 9, following the brothers' resentencing.
Timeline
Jose and Kitty Menendez are shot dead in their Beverly Hills home. Their sons, Erik and Lyle, are later charged with the killings.
At trial, prosecutors allege the brothers killed their wealthy parents for financial gain, pointing to a spending spree after the slayings. The defense argues they acted in self-defense after years of sexual abuse by their father. Both juries deadlock and mistrials are declared.
A second trial, in which the judge bars much of the sex abuse evidence, ends in first-degree murder convictions and two consecutive life terms without the possibility of parole.
After years of pressure from relatives seeking resentencing and release, the brothers are resentenced to 50 years to life, making them eligible for parole for the first time.
The parole board denies them release, citing conduct in prison including illegal cellphones. Erik Menendez was reportedly linked at one time to a prison gang. The family had argued the two were model prisoners.
The board grants an early parole suitability hearing, tentatively set for March 2027.
Reactions
The brothers' family, in a statement to ABC News-owned station KABC, framed the decision as the payoff of decades of work: "For almost 40 years, Erik and Lyle have worked to take responsibility for their actions, confront and heal from the unimaginable abuse and trauma they endured, grow as individuals, and dedicate themselves to serving others."
"Erik and Lyle were once sentenced to life without the possibility of parole," the statement continued. "We will always be profoundly grateful that they have been resentenced and that our family can now imagine a future in which they are once again part of our everyday lives."
The family says the brothers built a hospice program and launched a beautification project during their more than three decades behind bars.
What's Next
The March 2027 hearing is tentative. At a suitability hearing, the parole board decides whether the brothers are safe to release — the same question it answered no to in August 2025, when prison rule violations sank their bid.
That means the brothers' conduct in custody since last summer, not the 1989 killings alone, is likely to drive the outcome.
More
Why they are eligible at all
Life without parole leaves no hearing to ask for. The May 2025 resentencing to 50 years to life is what put the brothers in front of the parole board in the first place — the direct result of a years-long campaign by their relatives.
Poll
Should the Menendez brothers be released at their 2027 parole hearing?
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