Erik and Lyle Menendez have been granted an early parole suitability hearing tentatively scheduled for March 2027. The Menendez brothers were otherwise due to apply again for parole suitability in August 2028, so the new date moves their review forward.
Erik Menendez is 55, and Lyle Menendez is 58. Their May 2025 resentencing to 50 years to life automatically made them eligible for parole consideration because they were younger than 26 when they committed the 1989 murders of Jose and Kitty Menendez.
Parole Board and August 2025
The Parole Board granted the earlier hearing after the brothers had already been denied parole in August 2025. Parole Board Commissioner Robert Barton cited prison violations, including using illegal cellphones and incidents of violence, in that denial.
The new date does not decide parole itself. It moves the case into an earlier suitability review, which is the step that determines whether a person can be recommended for release after a life sentence.
September 2025 petition denial
The March 2027 hearing also comes after an LA Superior Court Judge William Ryan denied the brothers' September 2025 new trial petition. That petition relied on two new pieces of evidence that their father, Jose Menendez, was sexually abusive.
Ryan wrote, "The evidence alleged here is not so compelling that it would have produced a reasonable doubt in the mind of at least one juror or supportive of an imperfect self-defense instruction," leaving the parole path as the clearest remaining route for the brothers to pursue.
Family statement to CBS News
The family said, "We are incredibly proud of the men they have become and deeply grateful to the Parole Board for recognizing their efforts and allowing them to advance their parole hearing." It also said, "For almost 40 years, Erik and Lyle have worked to take responsibility for their actions, confront and heal from the unimaginable abuse and trauma they endured, grow as individuals, and dedicate themselves to serving others."
The family added that the brothers helped establish a hospice program and created Green Space. For Erik, the practical result is a shorter timetable to the next suitability review, with March 2027 now the date that will shape the next stage of the case.
