Erik and Lyle Menendez could return before a California parole panel more than a year earlier than expected.
The California Board of Parole Hearings has approved earlier parole suitability hearings for both brothers, with the new hearings tentatively expected in March 2027, according to TMZ. Their next hearings had been expected in 2028 after each received a three-year denial last August.
The decision does not grant parole to either brother. Erik and Lyle will appear separately before hearing panels that will decide whether each man currently poses an unreasonable risk to public safety.
Their family welcomed the earlier opportunity and pointed to the brothers’ rehabilitation work in prison, including programs created for other incarcerated people. The family said it was grateful that the Board had allowed the hearings to be advanced.
The New Hearings Could Come in March 2027
Erik received a three-year parole denial on August 21, 2025. Lyle received the same denial on August 22. The Board’s official results record both decisions as three-year denials.
Without an earlier review, those decisions would have kept the brothers from returning for another suitability hearing until 2028. TMZ reports that the Board has now approved an advancement for both men, with March 2027 expected as the new window.
No exact hearing days have been announced. The Board’s March 2027 calendar currently posted online contains scheduling data through September 2 and does not yet list Erik or Lyle. The Board updates its hearing schedules weekly.
California Can Move a Parole Hearing Forward
The Board of Parole Hearings has two procedures for moving a future suitability hearing to an earlier date: petitions filed by incarcerated people and administrative reviews conducted by the Board.
Under the administrative review system, someone given a three-year parole denial who has a low or moderate overall risk rating is reviewed about one year after the hearing. ABC News reported after the 2025 hearings that both brothers had received moderate risk assessments.
A deputy commissioner reviews prison records, the previous hearing decision and any statements submitted by registered victims, their relatives or the district attorney’s office. The Board can advance the hearing when new information or changed circumstances indicate that public safety may not require the full period of additional incarceration.
An approved administrative review generally leads to another hearing about 16 to 18 months after the previous one. A new hearing still requires a full suitability decision. If parole is eventually granted in a murder case, the decision also goes through additional Board review and can be reviewed by California’s governor.
Prison Rule Violations Hurt Both Brothers in 2025
The brothers entered their first parole hearings with extensive family support and records of creating and participating in rehabilitation programs. Commissioners still focused heavily on violations committed during their decades in prison.
Erik’s hearing lasted about 10 hours. Commissioner Robert Barton said his prison behavior was the primary reason for the denial, citing violations that included contraband cellphone use, drug smuggling, misuse of state computers and earlier violent incidents. Reuters reported that the panel concluded he continued to pose an unreasonable risk to public safety.
Lyle’s panel praised his prison programming, relationships with staff and other incarcerated people, family support and release plans. Commissioner Julie Garland nevertheless cited deception, minimization and rule-breaking, including illegal cellphone possession, when denying parole. ABC News reported that the panel found there were still signs he posed a public safety risk.
Both brothers received three-year denials despite the positive parts of their prison records.
Resentencing Made Their First Parole Hearings Possible
Erik and Lyle had originally been sentenced to life without the possibility of parole after their convictions for the 1989 murders of their parents, José and Kitty Menendez.
In May 2025, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic resentenced each brother to 50 years to life. Because Erik was 18 and Lyle was 21 at the time of the crimes, California’s youth offender parole laws made them immediately eligible for parole consideration after more than three decades in custody. Reuters reported that the resentencing opened the door to their August 2025 hearings.
The brothers admitted killing their parents. They have maintained that they acted after years of sexual abuse by their father and abuse within the family, while prosecutors have argued the murders were planned and financially motivated.
For now, both remain incarcerated at Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility. Their next parole suitability hearings are expected in March 2027, with the specific dates still to be added to the Board’s public schedule.