One of the Menéndez brothers’ high-profile bids for freedom has been rejected.
During a nearly 10-hour-long Thursday hearing for Erik Menéndez, the California parole board denied his request for release, the Los Angeles Times has reported.
His brother Lyle Menéndez will see if he’s been handed the same fate on Friday.
Nearly three decades ago, the siblings were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the 1989 murders of their parents at their Beverly Hills mansion.
Prosecutors argued it was a cold-blooded murder, done to secure their multimillion-dollar inheritance. The brothers maintained it was an act of self-defense following years of sexual abuse by their father.
In May, a California judge resentenced the pair to 50 years to life in prison, which made them eligible for parole based on California’s youth offender statutes.
During the resentencing, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic said the brothers had worked hard to rehabilitate themselves and deserved “a lot of credit for changing their lives.”
The judge also stressed that his decision was not a determination of whether they should be freed.
“I’m not saying they should be released; it’s not for me to decide,” Jesic said. “I do believe they’ve done enough in the past 35 years, that they should get that chance.”
While Erik Menéndez was denied a path to freedom today, his parole request will be eligible for reconsideration in three years.