Erik and Lyle Menendez have been given a new date for a parole hearing, moving the process up to next year and ahead of the timetable previously anticipated.
The brothers, convicted in the Aug. 20, 1989, shotgun killings of their parents, Jose and Mary Louise “Kitty” Menendez, inside the family’s Beverly Hills home, are now set to appear before the parole board for a suitability hearing in March 2027 rather than August 2028, Fox News confirms.
The earlier hearing date is tied to two provisions under Proposition 9, which permit a prisoner’s next parole hearing to be advanced when changed circumstances or new information suggest the inmate may be suitable for parole, according to The Orange County Register.
Erik and Lyle Menendez are scheduled to appear before a parole board in March 2027, earlier than previously expected. (Getty Images)
“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,” family members said in a statement.
The family statement also pointed to their work behind bars, including helping launch a hospice program and creating Green Space, saying the efforts were meant to foster an environment that shows people serving life sentences their lives still have purpose and that “regardless of their circumstances, they can choose each day to grow, heal, accept accountability, and contribute something of value to the world around them.”
Lyle, left, and Erik Menendez leave a courtroom in Santa Monica, Calif., on Aug. 6, 1990, after a judge ruled that conversations between the brothers and their psychologist after their parents were killed were not privileged and could be introduced as evidence. (AP Photo/Nick Ut, File)
The Menendez brothers were originally sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in a case that became one of the most closely watched murder trials of its era. In May 2025, however, they were resentenced to life, a change that made them eligible for parole.
The new sentencing came amid a push by supporters following a Netflix series on the case that resurrected calls for their freedom. They were denied parole last year.
Erik Menendez appears remotely for a 2025 parole hearing. (CDCR)
The brothers have said the murders were committed after years of sexual abuse by their father. However, prosecutors have contested the claims, arguing the pair killed their parents out of greed.
“Erik and Lyle were once sentenced to life without the possibility of parole,” the family statement said. “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… We are incredibly proud of the men they have become and deeply grateful to the Parole Board for recognizing their efforts and allowing them to advance their parole hearing.”
A sketch depicts (l-r) Erik and Lyle Menendez as they appear remotely at superior court in Van Nuys, California, Friday, April 11, 2025. (Bill Robles)
Lyle Menendez, 58, and Erik Menendez, 55, are both incarcerated in the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego.
