Lyle Menéndez also denied probation, will remain in prison with Erik Menéndez

Lyle Menéndez was denied probation on Friday, keeping him behind bars with his younger brother Erik Menéndez, whose probation was denied on Thursday.

While Lyle Menéndez, 57, attended the audience remotely of the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Center in San Diego, the probation commissioner Julie Garland praised him for his prison behavior, including his lack of violence, his work in programs and his positive relationships with other inmates and personal. He also pointed out his solid support network and his solid plans for a life after liberation.

But she said the panel found “there are still signs” that he presents a risk to the public.

“You have been an inmate model in many ways that has demonstrated the potential for change,” Garland told him at his first probation hearing. “But despite all those external positive, we see … you still fight with antisocial personality traits such as deception, minimization and rupture of rules under that positive surface.”

The illegal possession of cell phones of Lyle Menéndez in prison was another point made by the commissioners.

Garland said that “imprisoned people break rules” are more likely to break the rules in society.

“We understand that he had very little hope of being released for years,” said Garland, referring to his previous prayer of life without the possibility of probation.

“Citizens are expected to follow the rules if there is any incentive to do so,” he added.

Garland said the Board gave “great weight” to the fact that Lyle Menéndez was under 26 years at the time of murders and was very susceptible to the “negative and dysfunctional” environment in his home.

Lyle Menéndez is the next eligible for probation in three years. But the Board said it will be considered for an administrative review within a year and could move to an audience as soon as 18 months.

This decision occurs a day after Lyle Menéndez’s brother, Erik Menéndez, 54, was denied probation after a hearing of almost 10 hours. The Erik Menéndez commissioner panel, which were different from those who reviewed the case of Lyle Menéndez, based their decision on multiple factors, including the illegal use of Erik Menéndez’s cell phones in prison, robberies in which he participated before the murders and the brutal murder of his mother, Kitty Menendez.

A commissioner said that it was Erik Menéndez’s behavior in prison, not the severity of the crime, that was the main reason why probation was denied. The Board pointed out Erik Menéndez’s inappropriate behavior with visitors, drug smuggling, the misuse of state computers, violent incidents and illegal use of cell phones.

Erik Menéndez kept at the audience that the brothers killed their parents after years of sexual abuse by their father, José Menéndez, and said he felt betrayed by his mother when he learned that she knew about abuse.

“When I was with the den, I was in a state of terror, panic, anger,” he told the members of the Board, describing the moments before the shooting.

The Los Angeles County District Prosecutor, Nathan Hochman, who firmly opposes the liberation of the brothers, said in a statement after Erik Menéndez’s probation was denied: “The Board correctly determined that Erik Menéndez’s actions speak more than words.”

Erik Menéndez will also be eligible for probation in three years.

Although their paroles were denied, the brothers can ask the Board of probation to review the case of errors, according to the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation of California. Separately, the governor of California Gavin Newsom can give clemency to the Menéndez brothers at any time.

The brothers, who were arrested in March 1990, were initially sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of probation for the murders of August 20, 1989. Lyle Menéndez was 21 years old and Erik Menéndez was 18 years old at that time, and the brothers said they committed the murders in self -defense after years of abuse by his father.

This May, Judge Michael Jesus resonent Erik and Lyle Menéndez for 50 years of life in prison, making them immediately eligible for probation under the probation laws of youth criminals.

Jesus pointed out that he was moved by the support letters of the prison guards and was surprised by the work that the brothers had achieved to improve the lives of their fellow prisoners. The brothers also gave their own statements to the judge, admitting their guilt and admitting lying about the case in the past.