Robert Rand

Both Erik and Lyle Menendez were DENIED PAROLE – they were found “unsuitable for parole” – at hearings August 21 and 22 – days after the 36-year August 20 anniversary of the killing of their parents, Jose and Kitty. Erik’s hearing was ten hours long. Lyle’s hearing, the next day, lasted 11, while he average parole hearing in California lasts two or three. On both days there were no lunch breaks – only a series of ten-minute bathroom breaks.

Today, 35 years later, I am deeply ashamed of who I was. I am so sorry to each and every one of you, and I am grateful for your love and forgiveness. My actions were criminal; they were also selfish, cruel, and cowardly. I stole from my parents the right to a full life. I took from my relatives the right to share a life with my parents. I stole from the neighbors the right to a peaceful and safe community.

In July, the L.A. Times published two major stories about the Menendez Brothers that highlighted the new evidence and legal maneuvers that could finally set the boys free. First was a hard new story by Sal Hernandez: New evidence may back Menendez brothers’ sexual abuse claims. But can it free them? Hernandez: The brutality of the crime led many — including law enforcement — to speculate whether the killings were mob hits.