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Erik Menendez will remain in prison after the California board denied his bid for parole earlier this week, in a ruling made more than 30 years after the murders of the siblings’ parents. Erik and his brother, Lyle, were convicted in the 1989 killings, but this week, the parole board found that Erik “continues to pose an unreasonable risk to public safety.”

The 10-hour-long hearing on Aug. 9 delved into Erik’s record of rehabilitation and conduct in prison, along with an array of arguments for and against parole. District Attorney’s office officials recommended that Erik’s parole request be denied. In contrast, a group of over a dozen family members vouched for Erik. The board ultimately found with prosecutors, citing the crimes committed by Erik as a teenager, the violent nature of the killings, and “serious violations” committed while in prison.

Menendez, who is now in his 50s, will next be eligible to request parole in three years. At the time of the decision, Parole Commissioner Robert Barton did not let Erik off lightly. While the murders were a factor in the decision, Barton, speaking to Erik during the hearing, indicated the denial had just as much to do with the defendant’s conduct in prison.

“One can be dangerous to the public in many ways, by many types of criminal conduct, including the types of criminal conduct that you were found guilty of while you were in prison,” Barton told Erik. Barton then told Erik that he would do well to rely on his “great support network” to help him avoid future rule violations.

In total, Erik has accrued nine rule violations since his incarceration, for infractions ranging from drug possession to more than 20 contraband items, including a cell phone and lighter. While several corrections officials wrote letters in support of Erik’s record as a “model inmate,” Barton questioned whether such a characterization applied to the defendant who had nine rule violations. Erik replied that it was only in the last year that he could see himself being released, and it had affected his “consequential thinking.”

Dozens of tearful family members also took to the stand to testify on Erik’s behalf, saying that the murders had cost the family decades of pain and suffering. But they also focused on forgiveness. “To say that our family has experienced pain does not quite capture what the last 35 years have been like,” Tiffani Lucero-Pastor, a great-niece of the Menendezes’ mother, Kitty, said in her testimony. “It has divided us. It has caused us panic and anxiety.”

Karen Mae Vandermolen-Copley, Kitty’s niece, said that Kitty’s “absence of protection deepened their fear and confusion.”

The only family member known to have spoken against Erik’s parole was Kitty’s brother, Milton Andersen, who died in January this year.

In a statement, the family called the decision “disappointing” but still respected it. “Our belief in Erik remains unwavering,” the statement continued. “His remorse, growth, and the positive influence he’s had on others speak for themselves. We will continue to stand by Erik and hold to the hope that he can return home soon.”

Brother Lyle to be heard by the parole board, the Governor reserves the final decision

While Erik Menendez was denied parole, his older brother, Lyle, will make his case to the parole board next week. On Friday, the parole board will review Lyle’s time in prison and consider his record of rehabilitation. Although Lyle has slightly fewer disciplinary infractions on his record, his actions in the killings themselves may come up.

Lyle testified at his 1993 trial that he fired multiple shots at both parents, at close range, with a shotgun. Barton said this week that the cause of his mother’s death “was devoid of human compassion.”

Lyle was also accused of a series of inconsistencies in his retelling of their father’s alleged abuse of the brothers. At one point, prosecutors say, Lyle had even asked his girlfriend to lie and claim that their father drugged and raped her. These details may make for a harder case than Erik’s, but many family members plan to speak on Lyle’s behalf.

Both parole hearings come after the brothers were resentenced in May to 50 years to life in prison, replacing their previous sentence of life without parole. The changes in sentencing made the brothers eligible for parole for the first time. Their case became one of the state’s most high-profile murder trials after their claims that they killed their parents in fear for their lives because of abuse from their father. Prosecutors have, however, long held that the brothers killed their parents for their money since their father was a millionaire.

Governor Gavin Newsom will have the final say over whether the brothers can go free. According to a 1988 state law, governors can approve, deny, or modify parole board decisions for anyone convicted of murder and sentenced to an indeterminate term. The parole board’s decision will be under internal review for up to 120 days, at which point Governor Newsom will have 30 days to either approve, deny, or modify it.