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Erik Menendez was denied parole this week, despite having served more than 30 years in prison. A California parole board found that Erik, who was convicted with his brother of killing their parents in 1989, remains “an unreasonable risk to public safety.”

Erik’s hearing before the parole board lasted almost 10 hours and covered his rehabilitation in prison, his behavior while incarcerated, and both the arguments against and supporting his parole. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office argued for his continued incarceration, while more than a dozen relatives testified in his favor. The board ultimately ruled against Erik, citing his juvenile criminal record, the “nature of the crime,” and what they described as “serious violations” while in prison.

The decision means Erik, who is in his 50s, will not be eligible for parole for another three years. Parole Commissioner Robert Barton wrote in a statement explaining the ruling that the decision was “not dependent on the nature of the underlying offense,” but rather based on Erik’s behavior in prison.

“You can create a risk to public safety in many different ways, by engaging in many different types of criminal conduct, including the types you have been guilty of while in prison,” Barton told Erik. He advised Erik to draw more on his “great support network” moving forward, to prevent further parole violations.

In total, Erik has been cited for nine violations since being sentenced in 1993, from drug possession to illegal items in his cell, including a cell phone and a lighter. Several corrections officers wrote letters to the board on Erik’s behalf, describing him as a “model inmate.” Barton, however, questioned whether that designation fit his history of infractions. Erik, for his part, replied that he only began to believe his release was possible last year, and that his “consequential thinking” was affected by the change.

Erik’s relatives, most of them crying, also spoke on his behalf. Many family members expressed the way the murders have pained and divided them over the past 35 years, but also talked about forgiveness. “To say that our family has experienced pain does not quite capture what the last 35 years have been like,” Tiffani Lucero-Pastor, the great-niece of the Menendez brothers’ mother, Kitty, said during the hearing. “It has divided us. It has caused us panic and anxiety.”

Some of those testifying argued that Kitty’s lack of response to the alleged abuse in their home compounded the brothers’ fears. Karen Mae Vandermolen-Copley, Kitty’s niece, told the board that her aunt’s “absence of protection deepened their fear and confusion.” Milton Andersen, Kitty’s brother and the only family member known to be against Erik’s parole, died earlier this year.

The family stated the decision, saying they were disappointed but respectful of the board’s ruling. “Our belief in Erik remains unwavering,” it read. “His remorse, growth, and the positive impact he’s had on others speak for themselves. We will continue to stand by him and hold to the hope he can return home soon.”

Lyle Menendez to Face Parole Hearing, Governor Holds Final Say

Erik’s brother Lyle will soon face the parole board himself. His hearing will take place on Friday, when the board will hear about his record of rehabilitation in prison and his behavior while incarcerated. Although Lyle has committed slightly fewer disciplinary infractions than Erik, his actions at the time of the killings could also prove to be an obstacle.

In the 1993 trial, Lyle testified that he killed his parents by firing multiple shots from a shotgun at close range. Barton noted during this week’s hearing that his mother’s cause of death was “devoid of human compassion.”

Lyle has also been scrutinized for changing his story about their father’s alleged abuse against them. At one point, prosecutors said, he encouraged his girlfriend to lie to police and claim that their father drugged and raped her. These claims, among others, could create challenges for Lyle’s own parole request, despite support from many of the same family members who have spoken on Erik’s behalf.

The two parole hearings were possible because both brothers were resentenced in May from life without the possibility of parole to a term of 50 years to life, making them eligible for parole for the first time. Their trial was one of the most high-profile murder cases in California history, in part because of the brothers’ claim that they killed out of fear of their parents, particularly their father, after years of abuse. Prosecutors have since argued the brothers killed their parents for financial reasons, given their father’s considerable fortune.

Governor Gavin Newsom, however, has the final say on the brothers’ cases. A state law in California from 1988 allows governors to approve, deny, or modify parole board decisions for individuals who have been convicted of murder and sentenced to an indeterminate term. The board’s decision this week will go through an internal review for up to 120 days before Newsom has 30 days to decide whether to keep the decision, modify it, or reverse it.

The notoriety of the Menendez brothers, though, could work against them. As Hawthorne put it, Newsom will have to consider whether they will be a danger to public safety and if they have displayed a true sense of the “calculus of their offenses.”

For now, Erik Menendez is back in prison, with his next opportunity for release at least three years away. Lyle will soon find out if he can follow a similar path or if both brothers will continue serving life sentences they have had for much of the past three decades.