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Erik Menendez was denied parole this week by a California board after more than 30 years in prison. The board found Erik, who in 1993 was convicted alongside his brother Lyle of murdering their parents in 1989, still “poses [s] an unreasonable risk to public safety.”

The nearly 10-hour hearing this week reviewed Erik’s record in prison and arguments from supporters and the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office that he either deserved parole or should be denied. More than a dozen family members spoke in support of Erik while prosecutors encouraged the board to side with them. The board agreed with prosecutors, saying that Erik’s teenage criminal record, the “extraordinarily brutal” nature of the crime, and “serious violations” in prison played a role in their decision.

Erik, who is now in his 50s, will be eligible to apply for parole again in three years. Parole Commissioner Robert Barton explained the decision, telling Erik that the ruling was not based only on the “severity of the original offenses” but also on his conduct in prison.

“One can be dangerous to public safety in many different ways, through many different types of criminal behavior, including some of the ones you engaged in while you were in prison,” Barton told Erik, encouraging him to “fall back on your great support network to guide you and help you avoid another violation.”

Erik’s prison record includes nine rule violations since his incarceration for offenses like drug possession and having contraband items such as a cell phone and lighter. Several correctional staff members have written letters to the board calling him a “model inmate,” but Barton questioned whether that term fit a record that included nine documented violations. Erik said that he had only started to believe that release was possible last year, and that his “consequential thinking changed” as a result.

Family members who testified on Erik’s behalf were mostly tearful, describing the pain and division that the murders brought on over three decades. “To say that our family has experienced pain does not quite capture what the last 35 years have been like,” Tiffani Lucero-Pastor, the great-niece of the Menendez brothers’ mother, Kitty, told the board. “It has divided us. It has caused us panic and anxiety.”

Others claimed that Kitty’s lack of intervention into the alleged abuse inside their home had a profound impact on the brothers, further deepening their fear. Karen Mae Vandermolen-Copley, Kitty’s niece, said that her aunt’s “absence of protection deepened their fear and confusion.” The only relative known to oppose Erik’s parole was Kitty’s brother, Milton Andersen, who died earlier this year.

After the decision was announced, the family released a statement expressing disappointment but respect for the board’s decision. “Our belief in Erik remains unwavering,” the statement said. “His remorse, growth, and the positive influence he’s had on others speak for themselves. We will continue to stand by him and hold to the hope he can return home soon.”

Lyle Menendez to Face Parole Hearing, Governor Holds Final Say

Erik’s parole denial is not the last word in his and his brother Lyle’s cases, with Lyle next in line to face the parole board. Lyle’s hearing will take place on Friday, where a new board will consider his record of rehabilitation and conduct inside prison. While Lyle has accrued slightly fewer disciplinary violations than Erik, the actions he took during the killings could also play a key role.

At the 1993 trial, Lyle testified that he shot both parents multiple times in the head at close range with a shotgun. Parole Commissioner Robert Barton pointed out this week that the manner of their mother’s death was “devoid of human compassion.”

Lyle has also been criticized for a series of inconsistencies in his accounts of abuse by their father. Prosecutors said at one point he even asked his girlfriend to lie and claim his father had drugged and raped her. Those details could cloud Lyle’s case, despite support from a family that will also get the chance to speak on his behalf.

The parole board hearings for the brothers come after both were resentenced from life without the possibility of parole to 50 years to life in May. This change in their sentencing first made them eligible for parole. Their case has been one of the most high-profile murder trials in the state’s history, with both defendants claiming that their actions were out of fear following years of abuse from their father and stepmother. Prosecutors have long argued that financial gain was the true motive, pointing to the large fortune that their father had.

Governor Gavin Newsom ultimately has the final say on both Erik and Lyle’s fate. A 1988 state law empowers governors to approve, deny, or modify parole board decisions for anyone convicted of murder and sentenced to indeterminate terms. After the board’s ruling, the decision will be subject to an internal review for up to 120 days, before Newsom will have 30 days to act.

Legal experts have said that California governors have historically been reluctant to release high-profile prisoners. “Every governor is fairly allergic to releasing high-profile defendants,” Loyola Law School professor Christopher Hawthorne said. Former governors like Pete Wilson, Gray Davis, and Arnold Schwarzenegger rarely allowed parole in such cases, Hawthorne said, but Jerry Brown and Gavin Newsom have bucked that trend in the past decade, making parole much easier to obtain.

Still, the notoriety of the Menendez brothers may make their case an outlier. As Hawthorne put it, “The big factors are: is it a threat to public safety, and have the people given us real insight and understanding of the crimes and their circumstances?”

For now, Erik remains in prison, and his next chance for freedom is at least three years away. Lyle will soon learn if his path diverges or if the two brothers continue the sentences they began more than 30 years ago.