The brothers, now 57 and 54, who appeared for the re-sentencing proceeding via live video feed from prison in San Diego, will remain incarcerated for the time being.
Erik and Lyle Menendez were jailed after admitting to fatally shooting their entertainment executive father, Jose Menendez, and their mother, Kitty Menendez in 1989. Source: Getty / Los Angeles Times
Under California law, they become immediately eligible for parole, but the state parole board must still consider the case and decide when and whether they actually deserve to be released.
The outcome capped a day-long hearing in which several relatives, a retired judge and a former fellow inmate testified in support of defence efforts to shorten the brothers’ sentence to time already served, or at least gain parole eligibility.
The brothers were found guilty in 1996 of first-degree murder for shooting to death their parents in 1989 as the couple watched television in the family room of their home. Source: AP / AP
Former district attorney George Gascon petitioned for a re-sentencing in 2024, citing new evidence purported to bolster the brothers’ claims that they were molested and a prison record showing they had achieved rehabilitation while incarcerated.