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Erik Menendez was denied parole this week by a California parole board, which decided that Erik, who was convicted with his brother Lyle of killing their parents in 1989, remains “an unreasonable risk to public safety” after more than 30 years in prison.

The parole board heard from family, prosecutors, and Erik himself over the nearly 10-hour hearing, during which they weighed evidence of his rehabilitation, behavior in prison, and his case for release against arguments for keeping him in prison. Members of the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office argued for the board to deny Erik’s parole, as did over a dozen family members in support of Erik. The board ultimately agreed with prosecutors that Erik’s history of crimes as a teenager, the violent nature of the murder, and “serious violations” of prison rules should keep him from parole.

Erik, who is in his 50s, will be eligible for another parole hearing in three years. Parole Commissioner Robert Barton, who read the board’s decision, clarified that the decision was based not just on the murders themselves, but on Erik’s conduct while in prison.

“One can present a risk to public safety in many different ways, and with different types of criminal conduct, including the type of serious misconduct you were guilty of in prison,” Barton told Erik. He then recommended that Erik rely more heavily on his “great support network” to avoid further violations.

Erik has nine “rule violations” on his record since being sentenced, from drugs to possession of contraband items like a cell phone and a lighter. The board heard from multiple correctional officers who called Erik a “model inmate” in letters, but Barton said that the record of prison violations “made me wonder if that was really appropriate.”

Erik argued that it was only last year that he was able to truly believe that he could be released, and his thinking about the consequences of further violations changed as a result.

At least a dozen members of the family spoke on Erik’s behalf, many crying as they described the 35 years of pain and family division resulting from the murder. “To say that our family has experienced pain doesn’t really capture what the last 35 years have been like,” Tiffani Lucero-Pastor, the great-niece of the Menendez brothers’ mother, Kitty, said. “It has divided us. It has caused us panic and anxiety.”

Others also pointed to Kitty’s failure to step in against the alleged abuse at home as deepening the brothers’ fear. Karen Mae Vandermolen-Copley, Kitty’s niece, said her aunt’s “absence of protection deepened their fear and confusion.” Kitty’s brother, Milton Andersen, who died earlier this year, was the only relative who had made any public indication that he would oppose parole.

The family, in a statement, said they were “disappointed but accept the Board’s decision,” and maintained their support for Erik. “Our belief in Erik remains unwavering,” the statement continued. “His remorse, growth, and the positive impact he’s had on others speak for themselves. We will continue to stand by him and hold to the hope he can return home soon.”

Lyle Menendez to Face Parole Hearing, Governor Holds Final Say

Erik’s older brother, Lyle, will appear before the parole board on Friday, when they will weigh his record in prison and rehabilitation against the facts of his crime.

Lyle’s parole hearing has been the subject of some anticipation, given that he has only a slightly less egregious record of prison rule violations than Erik, but his testimony at their 1993 trial may hurt his case.

Lyle, who testified in his own defense, said he shot their mother with multiple blasts from a shotgun at close range before their father returned home, at which point Lyle also fired a shotgun at him. Barton noted this week that the cause of death for their mother “was devoid of human compassion.”

Lyle has also been criticized by prosecutors for making inconsistent statements about the alleged abuse at the hands of their father, even at one point asking his girlfriend to lie to investigators and claim that his father had drugged and raped her.

Lyle’s family, which also has many members hoping to speak on his behalf, has argued that the brothers have long been ready for release and have been helped by prison programs and faith.

California Governor Gavin Newsom, in an unusual system that California set up following the 1988 federal ruling in California v. Ramos, has final say on whether the parole board’s decisions for any individuals convicted of murder and sentenced to an indeterminate term (rather than life without parole) can be used to release those prisoners. The board’s decision will be subject to an internal review of up to 120 days, during which it can be subject to additional arguments or documents, after which Newsom has 30 days to either agree, modify, or reject their recommendation.

California governors have long been hesitant to allow high-profile prisoners to be released. “Every governor is fairly allergic to releasing high-profile defendants,” Christopher Hawthorne, a law professor at Loyola Law School, said. Former California governors Pete Wilson, Gray Davis, and Arnold Schwarzenegger rarely released high-profile prisoners after parole was recommended by the board, but both Jerry Brown and Gavin Newsom made parole for such prisoners more likely in the last decade.

But the Menendez brothers’ fame and notoriety could still make a release difficult, Hawthorne said. “The governor has to think about public safety in that release and, most important, do these people really have some insight into the nature of their conduct?” he said.

Erik will remain in prison, and his next chance at parole will be at least three years away. Lyle will soon hear if his decision goes the other way, or if the brothers will continue to serve the life sentences they began over three decades ago.