Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – A US judicial commission denied parole Friday to Joseph Lyle Menendez, a day after his brother Erik was also ordered to stay in prison for the murder of their parents in a Beverly Hills mansion more than three decades ago. A California panel ordered the 57-year-old, who goes by his middle name, to remain behind bars along with his younger sibling, defying a campaign for their freedom waged by family, friends, and celebrities including Kim Kardashian.
“Joseph (Lyle) Menendez was denied parole for three years at his initial suitability hearing today,” read a brief statement from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR). The outcome of Lyle Menendez’s hearing is the latest blow to a movement that has swelled in recent years, amplified by Netflix’s smash hit dramatic series “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.” The show and myriad documentaries have fixated on the gory details of the 1989 shotgun murders, and the televised jury trial that captivated audiences with accounts of their abusive upbringings and posh lifestyles.
Parole commissioner Julie Garland said the panel found that there were still signs that Lyle Menendez posed a risk to the public. She urged him not to give up hope, telling him that the denial of parole for three years was “not the end.” “My mom and dad did not have to die that day,” an emotional Lyle Menendez told the parole board, adding that the decision to use violence was solely his and not his “baby brother’s” responsibility. “I am so sorry to everyone, and I will be forever sorry,” Lyle Menendez added in his final remarks to the panel.
Friday’s hearing came just over 36 years after the deaths of parents Jose and Kitty Menendez, in what prosecutors said was a cynical attempt by their sons to obtain a large family fortune. After setting up alibis and trying to cover their tracks, Erik and Lyle shot Jose Menendez five times with shotguns, including in the kneecaps. Kitty Menendez died from a shotgun blast as she tried desperately to crawl away from her killers. The brothers initially blamed the deaths on a mafia hit but changed their story several times in the ensuing months. Erik, then 18, confessed to the murders in a session with his therapist.
The pair ultimately claimed they had acted in self-defense after years of emotional and sexual abuse at the hands of a tyrannical father. During their decades in prison, changing social mores and greater awareness of sexual abuse helped elevate the men to something approaching cultural icons. Friday’s hearing, which was closed to the public, lasted 11 hours. It was held separately from Thursday’s hearing for his brother Erik, 54. Both brothers appeared by video link from the San Diego prison where they are being held. The panel members, whose identities were not released by CDCR, quizzed them on their behavior and attitude toward the murders. The parole hearings became possible when a judge earlier this year resentenced the men, reducing their original full-life punishment to one of 50 years with the possibility of release.
© 2024 AFP
