Erik Menendez denied parole in LA decades after killing parents

Erik Menendez was denied parole after applying for freedom before the California’s conditional liberation committee.

The youngest of the two brothers of Menendez notorious, who were both sentenced in the 1989 -parents of their rich parents in Beverly Hills, made his first plea before the conditional liberation council on Thursday morning.

His brother, Lyle, is expected to face his own parole’s adequacy audience on Friday. The two brothers were made eligible for parole after being sentenced by a judge in May.

Erik Menendez can try on parole during another hearing in three years, the board of directors has tried.

The commissioner of the Board of Directors of Conditional Liberations, Robert Barton, who listened to the testimony for more than 10 hours with a panel before refusing the parole of Erik, said that he thought that Erik was not yet ready to be released.

“I believe in redemption, otherwise I would not do this job,” he told Erik at the end of the marathon hearing. “But on the basis of legal standards, we find that you continue to present an unreasonable risk for public security.”

The board of directors was published, in particular, with its violations in prison and its past criminal activities before killing his parents.

“Unlike the beliefs of your supporters, you have not been a model prisoner and frankly, we see a little disturbing,” said Barton, telling him frankly that he had “two options” for his future.

“One is to have a party of pity,” Barton told Erik. “Or you can take care of what we have discussed.”

Its offer for freedom is not over. The denial of parole is likely to focus on Governor Gavin Newsom, who reflects separately from a request for the mercy of the brothers.

The leniency could take the form of a reduced sentence or even a forgiveness, but that would not reversing the brother’s convictions. Packing such a publicized and controversial case could be politically risky for Newsom, which is considered a probable competitor for the president.

In addition to parole and leniency, the brothers also asked a new trial due to additional evidence discovered in the case.

A judge is thinking about the request, but the Los Angeles district prosecutor’s office.

During the hearing, a prosecutor from the District Prosecutor’s Office pleaded against the release of Erik, saying that positive changes in his behavior were only motivated by a chance of liberation. They argued that he was “always an unreasonable risk for society” and that he has no glimpse of his crimes “.

Erik appeared practically for the hearing of San Diego prison where he was hosted, wearing a combination of blue prison and glasses. Members of his family, his lawyers and a prosecutor from the Los Angeles District Prosecutor’s Office were also presented during a video call with the conditional liberation committee.

During the hearing almost all day, the panel questioned the killings, his relationship with his parents and his attempts to conceal guilt in the murders. He sometimes became emotional, describing the moments when he opened fire on his parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez, with a hunting rifle while watching television in their Beverly Hills manor.

The brothers pulled over the pair more than a dozen times, Erik even recharging the weapon and continuing to shoot his mother. He and his brother claimed the self -defense for a long time and said they were sexually abused.

“I just want my family to understand that I am so unimaginably sorry for what I put them from August 20, 1989 to date, and this hearing,” said Erik during the hearing before knowing her fate.

“If I have the chance of freedom, I want healing to be about them,” he said. “Don’t think it’s healing me – it’s the healing of the family. It is a family tragedy.”

The Council asked him about his stay in prison and his legal problems before the killings, in particular by being involved in two burglaries. He said that his time in prison had helped him develop a “moral railings”.

The panel also examined factors such as his health and if he would be a danger to society if he was released from prison. A risk assessment carried out for him revealed to be a “moderate” risk if it is released.

They reviewed the schooling and positive programs with which he had participated in the prison, as well as transgressions he had in the blocking, including fighting in prison and withdrawals several times with smuggling. While behind bars, he had trouble to have a mobile phone, art supplies and a tobacco – which he had hidden in a religious book.

The decision to keep Erik in prison is distinct from that of Lyle, who should appear before another parole committee on Friday morning.

By explaining their decision on Thursday, the board of directors clearly indicated that Erik’s behavior in prison and its previous burglaries were major factors in its denial. They also cited the brutal nature of the murders, the appellant “devoid of human compassion”.

While a large part of the Menendez brothers affair implies the two brothers, their conduct behind bars and before the 1989 murders is different and could provoke a different decision from the state’s conditional liberation committee.

During the hearing on Thursday, a coalition of parents, which long pleaded for the release of the brothers, and the supporters also testified on behalf of Erik, saying that he had changed during his long sentence.

Teresita Menendez-Baralt, Jose Menendez’s sister, melted in tears when she spoke before the panel, telling them that she had forgiven Erik for having killed her brother and the years of trauma he caused to their family.

She said she was dying of cancer of stadium four.

“The truth is that I don’t know how long I have left. If Erik is granted by parole, it would be a blessing,” she said. “I hope to live long enough to welcome him at home, to sit at the same table, to wrap my arms around him – it would bring me immeasurable peace and joy.”

The high -level murder trials of the brothers were one of those who defined the last century.

During their trials, the brothers said that the murders had been done in self-defense and said they had suffered years of emotional and sexual violence in their parents.

The prosecutors, however, argued that they were eager, entitled Monsters who meticulously planned the murders, then lied to the authorities investigating the case while going to $ 700,000 (£ 526,0000) of expenses – with purchases including a new Porsche, Jeep and Rolex watches – with the succession of their parents.

They were not arrested until the police learned his admissions to a psychologist.

Three decades later, the case was re -examined in the public thanks to a mixture of new evidence, attention to Tiktok, the dramatic series of Netflix Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez and weighing celebrities.

But the movement before the courts did not occur until the former Los Angeles prosecutor has re -examined the case and asked a judge to re -enclose them, citing the evolutionary approach of California towards juvenile offenders and abuse survivors.

A change of state law allows offenders who were under 26 years of age when they are condemned as minors rather than adults. Lyle was 21 years old and Erik was 18 when they killed their parents.

Despite the new Los Angeles district prosecutor Nathan Hochman, fighting the renowned effort, a judge in May reduced his sentences to 50 years with the possibility of parole.

Hochman accused Erik of having continued to “display narcissistic and anti -social traits” and his office fiercely argued in court against the release of Erik and Lyle.