Menendez Brothers Granted Early Parole Suitability Hearing in Major Development

Erik Menendez and Lyle Menendez have been granted an earlier parole hearing, moving up their next chance at release by more than a year.

The California Board of Parole Hearings agreed on Monday, September 7, to advance the brothers' parole suitability hearing to March 2027, according to a family spokesperson and multiple reports (via ABC News).

The pair, convicted of the 1989 shotgun killings of their parents in Beverly Hills, hadn't been eligible to apply for another hearing until August 2028.

The earlier date stems from California law rather than a new ruling on the brothers' guilt. The board granted the advancement under a provision of Proposition 9, a 2008 measure that allows an inmate's next parole hearing to be moved up when there's a change in circumstances or new information suggesting the person may be suitable for release.

The advancement itself doesn't guarantee freedom, however. The March 2027 hearing will determine only whether the brothers are found suitable for parole, and a favorable finding would then move through additional review before any release could occur.

The new date follows a setback for Erik and Lyle. Both were denied parole in August 2025, months after their resentencing, with the board citing their conduct behind bars. That included violations involving contraband cell phones. Erik was also reportedly linked at one time to a prison gang.

The board concluded at that hearing that the brothers were not suitable for release based on their prison record, even as their family maintained they'd been model inmates. Relatives have pointed to programs the brothers say they established during their decades in custody, including a hospice initiative and a prison beautification project.

The brothers became eligible for parole only after a lengthy legal effort. Erik and Lyle were originally sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. Their case shifted in 2024, when then-Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon supported resentencing, a position his successor, Nathan Hochman, opposed.

A judge resentenced the brothers in May 2025 to 50 years to life, making them eligible for parole under California's youthful offender law because they committed the crimes before turning 26.

In a statement, relatives said the decision brought them immeasurable joy and moved them a step closer to a future they'd once thought impossible, adding that they were proud of the men the brothers have become over nearly four decades in prison.

The killings and the trials that followed became one of the most closely watched criminal sagas in American history. Erik and Lyle fatally shot their parents, entertainment executive José Menendez and Kitty Menendez, at the family's Beverly Hills home on August 20, 1989, and were arrested months later.

The brothers' defense argued they acted after enduring years of sexual abuse by their father, while prosecutors contended they killed their wealthy parents for financial gain, pointing to a spending spree that followed the deaths. Their first trials ended in deadlocked juries and mistrials.

A second trial in 1996, during which the judge limited much of the abuse evidence, resulted in first-degree murder convictions and two consecutive life terms. Renewed public interest in recent years, fueled partly by documentaries and a new drama series, helped drive the push to revisit their sentences.