Erik and Lyle Menendez will face a parole board in March 2027, more than a year ahead of their scheduled August 2028 hearing.

The California Board of Parole Hearings granted the earlier date under a provision of Proposition 9, the 2008 ballot measure known as Marsy's Law, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation announced Monday, Sept. 7. Both brothers were denied parole in August 2025.

The advancement does not guarantee release. The March 2027 hearing will determine whether the brothers, convicted in 1996 of killing their parents at the family's Beverly Hills home, are suitable for parole.

Why the date moved up

Both brothers received three-year denials at their August 2025 parole hearings, the shortest denial length under California law. Each was assessed as a moderate risk.

Under the Board of Parole Hearings' administrative review process, a person denied parole for three years with a low or moderate risk rating may be reviewed one year after their hearing. If approved, the next hearing is scheduled roughly 16 to 18 months from the last one.

NBC Los Angeles reported the Proposition 9 provision was the basis for the earlier date. LAist noted it remains unclear exactly what triggered the board's decision to advance the hearing.

What happened at the 2025 hearings

Commissioner Robert Barton, who presided over Erik Menendez's hearing, cited recent prison violations and a continued willingness to commit crimes, CBS News reported. "This is a tragic case," Barton said at the Aug. 21, 2025, hearing, according to NBC News. "I agree that not only two, but four people, were lost in this family."

Commissioner Julie Garland, who presided over Lyle Menendez's hearing, found his remorse genuine but said he still posed a threat to the public. She cited prison violations and anti-social behaviors, according to NBC News.

Both brothers were written up for using illegally distributed cellphones as recently as November 2024, violations that CalMatters reported proved fateful in the parole denials.

Conviction and resentencing

Erik Menendez, now 55, and Lyle Menendez, 58, were convicted of the Aug. 20, 1989, shotgun killings of their parents, Jose and Mary Louise "Kitty" Menendez, at the family's Beverly Hills home. The brothers have said the killings followed years of alleged abuse, including sexual abuse by their father.

Originally sentenced to life without parole, the brothers were resentenced in May 2025 to 50 years to life. That made them eligible for parole consideration because they were younger than 26 at the time of the crime. Erik was 18 and Lyle was 21 in 1989.

Both are held at Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego.

Family reacts

The Menendez family released a statement Monday saying the brothers had spent decades taking responsibility and serving others in prison, including helping establish a hospice program and creating a program called Green Space. The family said the decision carried special weight because elderly relatives, including aunts Joan, Terry and Marta, face serious health challenges.

The family called the advancement especially meaningful and said it brings them closer to a future with the brothers that once seemed impossible.

Neither the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office nor the Board of Parole Hearings has released a public statement on the advancement.