What to Expect From the Menendez Parole Hearings, and How to Follow
The Menendez brothers, who have been behind bars since their arrest in 1990, are eligible for parole after being resentenced by a judge earlier this year, adding the possibility of early release to their life sentences.
Here's what to know.
The hearings will begin at 8:30 a.m. Pacific time, and there's no way for most people — or even the news media — to observe.
They will be conducted via video conference, with the brothers in an interview room at the R.J. Donovan Correctional Facility near San Diego and other participants scattered in other locations. But no live feed will be provided.
One journalist was selected to be a 'pool reporter,' watching from a state office and providing occasional updates. But any news outlet receiving those pool reports is barred from sharing what happens until a decision has been announced.
The closed hearings are expected to last more than four hours. After that, the board will deliberate and is expected to make an announcement once it has reached a recommendation for the governor.
That means the results of Erik Menendez's hearing could be known late Thursday, and Lyle Menendez's outcome late Friday. The New York Times will provide live coverage.
Yes. The brothers have taken different paths to demonstrating their rehabilitation, which could result in different decisions by the parole board. Erik Menendez has worked more directly to assist fellow prisoners, while Lyle Menendez has been engaged more with prison administrators.
Inmates typically face questions about their crimes and rehabilitation efforts from a panel of two or three parole board members, who will have examined thousands of pages of records.
Up to a dozen of the brothers' family members are expected to make statements in the hearings as next of kin of the victims, Jose and Kitty Menendez. Victims' family members typically oppose parole. This time, however, all are expected to support early release.
Then a representative for the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office will oppose parole, and the brothers and their lawyers will be able to make closing statements.
There's no chance of that. Regardless of the panel's recommendation, the board's chief counsel will conduct a legal review, which can take up to 120 days. Then, if parole is recommended, Gov. Gavin Newsom of California would have 30 days to make a final decision.
Only then could the brothers potentially walk free.
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