Menendez brothers eligible for parole after re-sentencing

14/5/2025 12:46

Lyle and Erik Menendez, who have served 35 years of a life prison term for the 1989 shotgun murders of their parents in their Beverly Hills home, were ruled eligible for parole by a Los Angeles judge at a re-sentencing hearing on Tuesday.



The Menendez brothers, held in custody since March 1990 and originally sentenced in July 1996 to two consecutive life terms without the possibility of parole, were each handed a new sentence of 50 years to life by Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic.



Now 57 and 54 years of age, the brothers will remain incarcerated while the state parole board and California Governor Gavin Newsom ultimately decide their fate.



As they have for a series of previous hearings, the brothers appeared for Tuesday's proceeding wearing blue jail garb via live video feed from prison in San Diego.



Jesic called their crime "absolutely horrific" but said it was "amazing" how they had rehabilitated themselves in prison.



Addressing the court before the judge rendered his decision, both defendants apologized to their families, expressed remorse for the killings and said they took "full responsibility" for their behavior.