The latest news may not be the end of the Menendez brothers’ bid for freedom. Here are the options they still have.
Eric Menendez refused parole by the California Board of Directors
The California Parole Board said Eric Menendez had raised public safety risks and denied the parole plea.
Brothers Menendez’s hopes for freedom through the prison parole process were shattered when the committee cited them as unfit to be reunited with society and breaking long-standing rules behind the bar.
Eric Menendez, 54, and Lyle Menendez, 57, were questioned for several hours and hours during the two-day hearings on August 21 and 22, about their parents’ shotgun murder in 1989, their behavior and how they changed since entering prison while serving in prison for more than 30 years.
Despite recent momentum resenting the May Freedom bid and allowing groundwell, a public supporter for parole consideration and release, the brothers were denied parole for a minimum of three years.
“You were a model prisoner in many ways, but you demonstrate the possibility of change. But despite all those outward positivity, we still know… you still struggle with antisocial personality traits like deception, minimization, and rule breaking that are beneath that positive surface.”
This is the meaning of the news for the bid for the brothers’ freedom and why the authorities released them parole.
Eric’s prison violation hearing focus: smuggling, physical violence, taxation
Eric Menendez was the first brother to go before the parole board, and during a nearly ten-hour hearing, he explained his way of thinking during his murder and prison. California’s parole hearing chair Robert Burton denied, saying Eric Menendez’s history of rule-destruction was broad and raised concerns about how he would act if released.
“Contrary to the beliefs of your supporters, you weren’t a model prisoner, and frankly, we get in the way a little,” Burton said.
At the hearing, Eric Menendez also allowed him to participate in the tax system with prison gangs. He described much of his actions as belonging to a man with no hope of release, trying to survive. The brother’s original sentence was a life without the possibility of parole.
“I was incredibly terrified,” Eric Menendez said at the hearing that he was being approached by gangs to help with tax fraud. “I thought this was a great opportunity to align myself with them and survive.”
“It was a very violent garden that I was trying to survive,” he said.
The commissioner also said Eric Menendez’s use of contraband cell phones was a factor in the denial. Eric Menendez said using phones to connect with the outside world is not intended to cause harm. Before he went out for parole, he said he didn’t consider the consequences of getting caught up in the phone.
Both brothers have experienced educational and rehabilitation programs over the past decades.
Lyle also denied parole for the violation.
Lyle Menendez’s prison records include historians of mentoring, community service activities and the pursuit of a master’s degree. However, at the hearing on August 22, the commissioner said he still has the “anti-social” traits that put him on the public risk if released.
His hearing also included time focusing on unauthorized use of mobile phones. Lyle Menendez said he had stayed to stay in touch with his family.
“I never call myself a model and someone who was imprisoned. I say I’m a good person and I’ve spent time helping people. I’m very open and accepting.”
Garland said that prisoners who break rules in prisons are more likely to break social rules, indicating that the murder factor was that he “has a bad perception of threats.” She said the board discovered that his regret was “real.”
Will Menendez’s brother still be free?
The denial of parole was a blow to the legal battle of a fierce battle for freedom from prison. The siblings are eligible for parole after a while. On the other hand, freedom still has two other means.
The Menendez brothers’ lawyers filed a habeas-protection petition on their behalf. The petition is slowly proceeding through legal proceedings and is opposed by Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman.
Another path to freedom is for California Gov. Gavin Newsom to grant his brothers generosity. That seems unlikely that the parole committee has determined they are a threat to society, trial lawyer Neema Ramani said in an email that he is a former federal prosecutor and president of West Coast Trial Attorney.
“I can’t see him sticking his neck out and forgive Menendez’s brother or pass sentences to the parole board’s denial,” Ramani said.
Families respond to denial of parole
The family, who had great support for the brothers and said they had forgiven them for the murder at the hearing, balked at their denial and opposed the media’s attention regarding the lawsuit.
“Of course, we are also disappointed in today’s decision, but we are not disappointed,” the family said in a statement spokesman Laziza Lambert shared with USA Today. “This is not the end of the road.”
“We know they are good men who work to rehab and regret. We love them unconditionally and will continue to stand by their side on future journeys.”
