News Releases

The California Board of Parole Hearings conducted proceedings by video conference in Sacramento today, with Erik Menendez appearing from the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego. Tomorrow, Lyle Menendez will go before the Board. Assistant Head Deputy District Attorney Habib Balian presented our office’s arguments remotely from the Hall of Justice in Los Angeles.

Statement

The California Board of Parole has rightly decided against granting parole to Erik Menendez, and I commend the Board for its thoughtful decision and for weighing all of the evidence and relevant parole factors. This ruling does justice for Jose and Kitty Menendez, the victims of the brutal murders carried out by their sons on Aug. 20, 1989. The prior administration’s motion for resentencing failed to examine or consider whether the Menendez brothers have exhibited full insight into, and taken complete responsibility for, their crimes.

For more than three decades, both Erik and Lyle Menendez have advanced a false claim of self-defense, alleging they feared their parents were going to kill them, to justify the brutal murders of their parents — including shotgun blasts to their father’s back, a point-blank shot to their mother’s face, and shots to their kneecaps staged to mimic a Mafia killing. The record shows they suborned perjury, including soliciting others to make false claims that their father violently raped Lyle’s girlfriend and that their mother poisoned the family. The Board correctly determined that Erik Menendez’s actions speak louder than words, and that his conduct in prison and current mentality demonstrates that he still poses an unreasonable risk of danger to the community. Importantly, the Board did not bow to public spectacle or pressure, a restraint that upholds the dignity and integrity of the justice system.

The Board’s decision reflects a careful, evidence-based assessment of the facts and parole factors. While this parole hearing has been denied, he will have subsequent parole hearings, and our office will continue to attend and make the case on behalf of justice and public safety.

The prosecutors who have carried out this work — Assistant Head Deputy District Attorney Habib Balian and Deputy District Attorneys Ethan Milius and Seth Carmack — exemplify the highest standards of professionalism and commitment to justice, and their efforts ensured that every fact was brought forward, and every argument was made with clarity and force.

Erik Menendez will be eligible for parole again in three years.