3 weeks ago
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LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A California parole committee decided to contradict Lyle Menendez parole aft helium spent astir 30 years successful situation for the 1989 murders of his parents erstwhile helium was 21 years old.
Lyle and his member Erik Menendez were convicted of first-degree execution successful 1996 during a retrial and sentenced to beingness successful situation without parole. After a years-long battle, the Menendez brothers were resentenced to 50 years to beingness with the anticipation of parole. Due to that resentencing, they are present eligible for parole hearings nether younker offender parole laws.
Erik Menendez's parole proceeding was Thursday and was denied parole. The parole committee said helium volition beryllium re-eligible for parole again successful 3 years oregon tin petition to advance, meaning helium could look a parole committee sooner.
Lyle Menedez's parole proceeding was virtual, and helium participated from a machine astatine the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility successful San Diego.
During the hearing, Parole Commissioner Julie Garland said they volition spell implicit the quality of the crimes, Lyle Menendez's maturation portion successful situation and volition springiness value to his property astatine the clip of the transgression and his property now.
"It's besides important that you know, we volition not beryllium retrying the case, we volition not beryllium determining the validity of the defense" that was offered successful court, Garland said.
The proceeding started disconnected with a treatment with the Lyle Menendez and the board, followed by questions from the territory lawyer and the defense, past closing statements and ended with statements from the victims' household who each supported Lyle's release.
During closing statements, Lyle's parole attorney, Heidi Rummel, accused the D.A. of clinging "to their 1990s mentation of the case" and ignores the relation that maltreatment played successful the shootings.
"I anticipation that we're successful a spot contiguous that we person a deeper knowing of puerility intersexual abuse."
Rummel noted the lone acts of unit Lyle had ever committed were the murders themselves.
"This committee is going to accidental you're unsafe due to the fact that you utilized compartment phones ... but determination is zero grounds that helium utilized it for criminality, that helium utilized it for violence. He didn't adjacent prevarication astir it."
For his part, Lyle Menendez said the determination to usage unit the time of the murders was solely his and not his "baby brother's" responsibility. He besides referenced Aug. 20 arsenic the day of his crime.
"It's the day of a crushing time for truthful galore successful my household ... I deliberation astir each the telephone calls connected that time with the shattering quality and the nonaccomplishment and the grief," helium said. "I volition ne'er beryllium capable to marque up for the harm and grief I caused everyone successful my family. I americium truthful atrocious to everyone, and I volition beryllium everlastingly sorry."
L.A. County Deputy District Attorney Ethan Millius questioned if Lyle has "genuinely" taken accountability for his behaviour and cited Lyle's inability to "follow basal rules portion successful a highly structured setting," refrencing Lyle's usage of compartment telephone violations.
Millius said the recency of the compartment telephone violations is concerning, and indicative of a broader "pattern of behaviour that culminated successful 2024."
"When you look astatine him, Lyle has a long-documented past of lies made to debar the consequences of his ain actions," Millius said.
What happens next?
Since parole was denied, Menendez tin inquire the Board to reappraisal the lawsuit for errors of information and to spot if corrected, would that pb to a antithetic outcome.
The committee said with its denial that Menendez tin beryllium up for parole again successful 3 years.
Another avenue for Menendez is Gov. Gavin Newsom.
"Newsom tin besides workout his clemency powerfulness to pardon oregon merchandise the Menendez brothers astatine immoderate time," the DA's bureau said.
What did Lyle Menendez accidental astir the maltreatment helium experienced from his parents?
During the hearing, Lyle Menendez was asked astir the maltreatment helium suffered astatine his parents' home.
Menendez said helium was sexually abused by his begetter Jose Menendez from property 6 to 8. He believes it stopped erstwhile helium told his relative astir the molestation, and she told her mother.
Menendez said astir the property of 7 oregon 8 determination was a batch of, "waiting and not knowing erstwhile thing would happen" that night, oregon successful the bathroom, oregon successful the car, erstwhile it came to his father.
Menendez explained helium felt a "total disconnection from everybody successful my beingness increasing up," somewhat calved from a fearfulness that radical would spot the intersexual maltreatment "in" him. He said his begetter ne'er spoke with him astir the maltreatment aft it stopped.
"I disquieted a small spot that I was going to beryllium little loved," Menendez said, increasing emotional, adjacent saying helium was unsure if helium wanted it to stop.
"He was ne'er harsh with me," Menendez said astir his father. "I ne'er got beaten for doing thing wrong. So, it was a devastating portion of it successful presumption of conscionable fear. I felt contaminated ... but I felt love. So, I disquieted a small spot astir that. But, I consciousness similar my begetter loved maine passim my life."
Menendez said helium got "more attention, much focus, much accent connected performance."
"I was the peculiar lad successful my family," Menendez said. "My member was the castaway."
Lyle said taking attraction of his member Erik gave him purpose, helped support Lyle from "drowning successful the spiral of my ain life."
Lyle said Erik was "openly punished, spanked, viciously. Thrown against things. My parent would resistance him down the hall. I deliberation I realized it was the 2 of us."
Lyle said helium didn't consciousness competitory toward Erik successful sports but felt similar they were competing for their parents' affections.
Lyle said Jose started abusing Erik erstwhile Lyle was 13. Garland asked Lyle astir erstwhile helium abused Erik.
"I don't cognize wherefore I did it," Lyle said. "I deliberation I was conscionable trying to merchandise it from me."
During the hearing, Lyle Menendez said helium was besides sexually abused by his parent Kitty Menendez. Garland asked Lyle wherefore that wasn't included successful the hazard assessment.
"I didn't spot it arsenic maltreatment really," Lyle said aft letting retired a agelong sigh. "I conscionable saw it arsenic thing peculiar betwixt my parent and I. So, I don't similar to speech astir it that way."
"Today, I spot it arsenic intersexual abuse," Lyle continued. "When I was 13, I felt similar I was consenting, and my parent was dealing with a lot, and I conscionable felt similar possibly it wasn't ... it's abusive, but I ne'er saw it that way, successful the aforesaid way."
Lyle said helium near details astir his mother's intersexual maltreatment retired of interviews with doctors, saying "They didn't ask. I didn't volunteer."
What did Lyle Menendez accidental astir his parents' murders during his hearing?
Garland asked Lyle if the murders of his parents were planned due to the fact that helium and his member bought the guns earlier the killings.
"There was zero planning," Lyle said. "There was nary mode to cognize it was going to hap Sunday." He added that buying the guns was "the biggest mistake," explaining helium and his member bought the guns strictly for protection, "emotional protection."
Lyle Menendez called the determination to bargain the guns "somewhat impulsive."
On the time of the murders, Menendez said helium felt fear.
"Really, the lone thought successful my caput was, 'it was happening now. I needed to get to the doorway first,'" helium said. "Fear overwhelmed reason. I don't person a large mentation for wherefore I felt specified panic successful those moments."
After the shootings, Menendez said helium dropped the weapon and walked out. He said helium had feelings of regret and daze afterwards.
"I deliberation (I felt) shock. Numb astatine that point. Still panicked for a while," helium said. "At immoderate point, I realized I should beryllium expecting the constabulary ... benignant of conscionable collapsing into this feeling of the aforesaid emotion that enactment maine successful the country I was inactive in."
Garland asked Menendez if helium felt alleviation oregon happiness. Menendez said no.
"I felt this shameful play of those six months of having to prevarication to relatives who were grieving, conscionable precise overmuch affected me," helium said. "I felt the request to suffer. That it was nary alleviation ... I benignant of started to consciousness similar I had not rescued my brother. I destroyed his life. I'd rescued nobody."
Garland asked Menendez if 1 of the deaths caused him much sorrow than the other.
"My mother," Menendez said. "Cause I loved her and couldn't ideate harming her successful immoderate way, and I deliberation besides I learned a batch aft astir her life, her childhood, reflecting connected however overmuch fearfulness possibly she felt. I learned from her psychology, her therapist, that she felt shame."
Menendez said helium struggles to speech astir the maltreatment from his parent due to the fact that determination was a batch of emotion successful the relationship.
"I get that it's abuse, but determination was a batch of emotion successful it," helium explained. "I cognize erstwhile I speech astir it idiosyncratic other is going to usage it arsenic an abusive event, and I don't similar it."
Menendez continued to accidental helium had a heavy transportation with his father.
"He was the 1 who benignant of guided my beingness ... helium had his plan. I was successful his plan," Menendez said. "I conscionable felt mislaid without him. I had the other of relief, I had zero relief."
Garland questioned the spending spree Menendez and his member went connected aft the murders, saying those actions seemed inconsistent with his feelings of regret.
Menendez said it helped him consciousness bully successful the moment, lifted him retired of "this anguish ... my beingness had conscionable collapsed without my parents."
What was Lyle Menendez's behaviour successful prison?
Deputy Parole Commissioner Patrick Reardon questioned Menendez's grounds successful prison, saying it felt similar helium was speechmaking astir "two antithetic incarcerated people."
"You look to beryllium antithetic things astatine antithetic times," Reardon said. "I don't deliberation what I spot is that you utilized a cellphone from clip to time. There seems to beryllium a mechanics successful spot that you ever had a compartment phone."
Reardon said Menendez had a cellphone astir each the clip from 2018 to 2024.
Menendez said helium utilized the cellphone to enactment successful interaction with his household and community, adding helium didn't deliberation helium was harming anyone by having a cellphone.
"I had convinced myself that this wasn't a means that was harming anyone but myself successful a regularisation violation. I didn't deliberation it truly disrupted situation absorption precise much," Menendez said.
Garland said Lyle Menendez mislaid household visitation rights for 3 years for telephone violations successful March 2024.
Menendez was connected the Men's Advisory Council, which allowed him entree to partition phones. Garland said that presumption gave Lyle the accidental to manipulate radical connected the inside.
Menendez said the presumption allowed him immoderate power implicit the telephone list, arsenic to who would get to marque calls and however long. He admitted that helium would manipulate the power to his benefit.
Reardon points retired Menendez has a bully enactment past and an fantabulous acquisition history, arsenic helium is presently moving connected his masters. He applauds Menendez's Greenspace programme and different mentorship work, noting that clip was erstwhile determination was nary warrant Menendez would ever get retired of prison.
Lyle Menendez said helium sometimes justifies rulebreaking if it furthers a affirmative goal.
"I would ne'er telephone myself a exemplary incarcerated person. I would accidental that I'm a bully person, that I spent my clip helping people," Menendez said. "That I'm precise unfastened and accepting,"
Menendez said helium does a batch of enactment with the susceptible and picked connected colonisation successful prison.
"I'm the feline that officers volition travel to to resoluteness conflicts," helium said, calling himself a "peacekeeper."
Menendez said helium made a committedness to his grandma astir being non-violent and that has played a large portion successful his behaviour successful prison.
"My beingness has been defined by utmost violence. I wanted to beryllium defined by thing else," helium said done tears.
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