Lyle Menendez was denied parole after an 11-hour-plus proceeding in which parole commissioners concluded he would pose a risk to the public if released. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation announced the ruling. Menendez appeared by video in blue prison garb. His brother, Erik, was denied parole in a similar session; both may apply again in three years. The brothers were convicted of first-degree murder for the 1989 shotgun killings of their parents, which they said were self-defense after years of sexual and emotional abuse. Prosecutors argued the killings were calculated and motivated by greed.
Parole commissioners assigned to the case concluded there were still signs that Lyle Menendez, 57, would pose a risk to the public if released from custody, according to details of the hearing provided to news outlets, including Reuters, through a media pool reporter. Menendez, dressed in blue prison garb, appeared by video from a San Diego lockup where he is incarcerated. His younger brother, Erik Menendez, 54, was denied parole following a similar 10-hour session on Thursday.
They admitted fatally shooting their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez, on August 20, 1989, with 12-gauge shotguns as the couple watched television in the family room of their home. But the siblings have maintained they acted in self-defense, fearing for their lives after years of sexual abuse by their father, a wealthy entertainment industry executive, and emotional abuse by their mother. The brothers were 21 and 18 at the time.
Prosecutors argued the killings were coldly calculated and motivated by greed, namely the brothers' desire to inherit their parents' multimillion-dollar fortune. Explaining the reasoning behind Friday's ruling, Parole Commissioner Julie Garland said the "callous" nature of the killings, as well as Lyle Menendez' efforts to cover up his role in the crime afterward, remained factors in the denial. In a tearful closing statement before the board's decision, Menendez said he was "profoundly sorry for who I was ... for the harm that everyone has endured."
Collection
[
|
...
]