Erik and Lyle Menendez were expressing gratitude after learning they’ve been granted a parole hearing tentatively scheduled for March 2027 — more than one year earlier than previously expected.
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The brothers, convicted in 1996 of the Aug. 20, 1989, shotgun killings of their parents, Jose and Mary Louise “Kitty” Menendez, in Beverly Hills, had been eligible to apply for a parole suitability hearing in August 2028.
The California Board of Parole Hearing granted the earlier date due to a provision in Proposition 9, a 2008 law that amended the state Constitution and was meant to provide certain rights to crime victims. Included in the law are two provisions allowing a person’s next parole hearing date to be moved up if there was a change in circumstances or new information indicating the person may be suitable for parole.
Family members released the following statement on Monday, Sept. 7:
“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,” it says. “Through efforts such as helping to establish a hospice program and creating Green Space, they have sought to build an environment that reminds people serving life sentences that their lives still have meaning 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.
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“Erik and Lyle were once sentenced to life without the possibility of parole,” the statement says. “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.”
The two brothers were initially sentenced to life without the possibility of parole for the murders. The brothers say the killings were committed after years of abuse, including alleged sexual abuse by their father.
In May 2025, they were re-sentenced to 50 years to life, automatically making them eligible for parole consideration because they were younger than 26 when the crimes occurred.
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Both are in the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego.
Lyle Menendez is 58 years old. Erik is 55.