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Erik Menendez was denied parole this week by a California parole board after more than three decades in prison. Erik, who was convicted with his brother Lyle of killing their parents in 1989, is still “an unreasonable risk to public safety,” the board determined.

At nearly 10 hours, the hearing considered Erik’s progress in prison, behavior, and both the reasons to grant and deny him parole. Prosecutors from the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office advocated for his continued imprisonment, while more than a dozen relatives testified on his behalf. In the end, the board sided with prosecutors, citing not only his criminal history as a teen, the heinous nature of the murders, and “serious violations” in prison.

Erik, who is in his 50s, is eligible for another parole hearing in three years. Parole Commissioner Robert Barton explained the decision, telling Erik that it was not just based on the original murders but also his behavior in prison.

“One can be a danger to public safety in many ways and through various types of criminal misconduct, including some of the things you have done in prison,” Barton said. He told Erik he should rely more on his “great support network” to avoid additional rule violations.

Erik has received nine rule violations while in prison, including for drug possession and contraband like a cell phone and a lighter. He also has a lengthy criminal history as a teen, which the board noted. Though several members of the prison staff have lauded Erik as a “model inmate,” Barton questioned whether that could still be said, given his disciplinary record. Erik said he only felt like release was a possibility last year and that he developed a different kind of “consequential thinking” since then.

Family members were among those testifying on Erik’s behalf, several of them in tears. They spoke of the pain of the murders and the rifts in the family that lasted for decades, but also of forgiveness. “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, said. “It has divided us. It has caused us panic and anxiety.”

Others testified that Kitty’s lack of intervention in what the brothers said was abuse in the home, which only compounded the fear the teenagers felt. Karen Mae Vandermolen-Copley, Kitty’s niece, said her aunt’s “absence of protection deepened their fear and confusion.” Kitty’s brother, Milton Andersen, was the only known relative against Erik’s parole, but he died earlier this year.

The family put out a statement after the ruling, saying they were disappointed but respected the board’s decision. “Our belief in Erik remains unwavering,” the statement said. “His remorse, growth, and the positive impact he’s had on those around him 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 older brother, Lyle Menendez, will also have his own parole hearing before the board. Lyle’s hearing will be held on Friday, where the board will similarly consider his rehabilitation and conduct. Though Lyle has a slightly better disciplinary record than Erik, the manner of the killings could count heavily against him.

Lyle was the main witness at the 1993 trial, where he testified that he killed both his parents with multiple shotgun blasts at close range. Barton noted this week that the way his mother was killed “was devoid of human compassion.”

He has also come under scrutiny for how he described alleged abuse by their father, including several inconsistencies in his claims. At one point, prosecutors said he even had his girlfriend lie, telling her to claim that his father drugged and raped her. The defense has said those discrepancies were due to Lyle not wanting his girlfriend to get involved, but that detail may be one factor the board considers, despite the many family members who plan to support him.

The parole hearings follow the fact that both brothers were resentenced from life without the possibility of parole to 50 years to life in prison in May. That made them eligible for parole for the first time, in one of the most famous murder trials in California history. The brothers had said they killed out of fear after years of abuse, while prosecutors said the murders were motivated by their father’s wealth.

Governor Gavin Newsom ultimately will have the final say over the brothers’ cases. Under a 1988 California law, the governor can approve, deny, or modify the parole board’s decision for all individuals convicted of murder and given indeterminate terms. The decision by the board will first go through an internal review for up to 120 days, and then Newsom will have 30 days to act.

Historically, California governors have been reticent about releasing high-profile prisoners. “Every governor is fairly allergic to releasing high-profile defendants,” said Christopher Hawthorne, a Loyola Law School professor. He said that former governors Pete Wilson, Gray Davis, and Arnold Schwarzenegger rarely allowed parole in these cases, but Jerry Brown and Gavin Newsom in the last decade had shifted the paradigm and made parole easier.

But the Menendez brothers have an unusual amount of notoriety, which could work against them. As Hawthorne put it, Newsom has to balance public safety and the question of whether both brothers have “genuine insight into the basis for their crimes.”

Erik will remain in prison for the time being, with another chance at parole at least three years away. Lyle will soon learn if he faces a different path, or if both brothers are to continue the life sentences they have been serving for more than 30 years.