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Erik Menendez was denied parole this week after more than 30 years in prison, according to a ruling by a California parole board. The board found that Erik, who was convicted with his brother Lyle of murdering their parents in 1989, still presents “an unreasonable risk to public safety.”

The parole board held an almost 10-hour hearing in which it considered Erik’s rehabilitation, behavior in prison, and the cases for and against parole. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office recommended against parole, while more than a dozen relatives of the Menendez family asked the board to grant him parole. In the end, the board sided with the prosecutors, citing Erik’s past criminal behavior as a teenager, the violence of the murder, and “serious violations” in prison.

Erik, who is in his 50s, will be up for parole again in three years. In a video explaining the ruling, Parole Commissioner Robert Barton said that the decision was not based on the severity of the murders alone but also on Erik’s behavior in prison.

“One can be a risk to public safety in many ways, with several types of criminal behavior, including the ones you were guilty of in prison,” Barton told Erik. He also told Erik that he should rely more on his “great support network” to avoid future violations.

Erik has committed nine rule violations in prison, which include illegal drugs and possessing contraband items like a cell phone and a lighter. While several prison officials wrote letters attesting to him being a “model inmate,” Barton questioned whether that was an accurate assessment given his disciplinary record. Erik said in response that he has only felt it was possible to be released within the last year and that his “consequential thinking” was affected.

Erik’s family members were emotional, and many were in tears during their testimony, where they discussed the years of pain and division the murders have brought the family. “To say that our family has experienced pain does not quite capture what the last 35 years have been like,” Tiffani Lucero-Pastor, the great-niece of the Menendezes’ mother, Kitty, said. “It has divided us. It has caused us panic and anxiety.”

Others testified that Kitty’s inaction regarding the alleged abuse in the house only increased the fear the brothers faced. Karen Mae Vandermolen-Copley, Kitty’s niece, said that her aunt’s “absence of protection deepened their fear and confusion.” The only family member known to be against parole was Kitty’s brother, Milton Andersen, who died earlier this year.

The family released a statement following the ruling, saying they were “disappointed but respect the Board’s decision.” “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 Menendez’s older brother, Lyle, will also have a parole hearing before the same board. His will be on Friday, and the board will hear about his rehabilitation record and behavior in prison. Despite having a slightly better disciplinary record than Erik, the details of the killings and Lyle’s involvement may still work against him.

During the original 1993 trial, Lyle said he shot their father, Jose, with several blasts from a shotgun and then their mother, Kitty, at close range with a second gun. Barton noted this week that the way their mother was killed was “devoid of human compassion.”

Lyle has also faced scrutiny for changing his story of alleged abuse from their father over the years, including asking his girlfriend at the time to lie and claim their father had drugged and raped her. While many family members have also said they will testify on Lyle’s behalf, these details could make his parole bid more difficult.

The two parole hearings come after both Lyle and Erik were resentenced in May from life without parole to 50 years to life, giving them the chance for parole for the first time. The case has long been one of the most high-profile murder trials in California, with their initial defense based on the fear they said they felt after years of abuse from their parents. Prosecutors, however, have long argued that the killings were a way to get at their father’s fortune and that the abuse was exaggerated.

The final say on the brothers’ fate ultimately rests with Governor Gavin Newsom. The 1988 state law gives the governor the power to approve, deny, or modify the parole board’s decisions for those convicted of murder and given an indeterminate sentence. The decision will go through an internal review for up to 120 days before the governor has 30 days to take action.

The governor has considerable power over parole board decisions, and legal experts say that previous California governors have often been “fairly allergic” to releasing high-profile prisoners. “Every governor is fairly allergic to releasing high-profile defendants,” Christopher Hawthorne, a Loyola Law School professor, said. Former governors Pete Wilson, Gray Davis, and Arnold Schwarzenegger rarely granted parole, but Jerry Brown and Gavin Newsom have, in recent years, made parole more obtainable.

The Menendez brothers, however, are still a high-profile case, and that may work against them. “The question [Newsom] has to grapple with is, ‘Are they safe?’ ‘Do they still have public safety concerns?’ ‘Is there insight that is genuine or contrived?’ ” Hawthorne said.

For now, Erik will continue to be in prison, with his next shot at parole at least three years away. Lyle will soon find out if his future will be different or if both will continue the life sentences that began more than 30 years ago.