The Menendez brothers have been denied parole, delaying their next chance for release by three years and reigniting debate over justice in one of America’s most infamous murder cases.
After serving over three decades in prison for killing their parents in 1989, Erik Menendez was denied parole last Thursday by the California Board of Parole Hearings.
His brother, Lyle Menendez, was rejected a day later due to concerns over their misbehavior behind bars.
Criminal Justice and Criminology student, Charly Cable, said that the board focused too heavily on minor infractions and did not thoroughly look at their initial crime.
“I don’t think it was looked at fairly,” she said.
According to Ms. Cable, a parole board officer considers time served if they are a risk to the community, and the likelihood of them reoffending.
“Eric having anti-social personality traits and Lyle hiding his cell phone which could be used for anything like drug trafficking or other crimes could have been seen as a risk for them re offending.”
She said it is unlikely that the brothers will be granted parole in 3 years’ time because the reasons behind their denial were minor.
“I think that the initial crime is still viewed as though they weren’t acting in self-defense,”
“I think if it’s still a case of first-degree murder, then the time they served already isn’t sufficient.” Ms. Cable said.
Dastan Taher, 20, began closely following the case after discovering it on TikTok.
She said the original judgment was unfair and biased because of their gender, despite evidence of sexual abuse.
“The evidence was right there in their hands, and they still chose to ignore it,”
“As long as they were boys it wouldn’t matter.” she said
Ms. Taher said the brothers have served enough time in prison and deserve parole to find some peace in the situation.
“They are traumatised victims,”
“They should be allowed to go back and try to see some form of normality that they haven’t received.” Ms. Taher said.
However, Ms. Cable said public perception is shaped by the media, which has made parole seem easier to grant than it is.
“It takes years for it to be looked at and it takes a lot of time and there are lots of requirements,”
“People online think that ‘oh well it’s unfair so they should be let out’ but it’s a lot more complex than that.” she said.
