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Calif. Gov. Gavin Newsom said that he’ll make the decision if Erik and Lyle Menendez are suitable for parole by Labor Day for the 1989 shotgun murders of their parents in their Beverly Hills mansion.
Ahead of the Menendez brothers’ parole hearing on Aug. 21 and 22, Newsom discussed the case Sunday with “Monsters” creator Ryan Murphy on his podcast, “This is Gavin Newsom.”
The governor holds the final say and is expected to make a decision by Labor Day if the parole board recommends release.
“That’s heavy stuff,” Murphy said.
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Newsom has said he intentionally avoided watching the Netflix series about the Menendez brothers to prevent any outside influence on his judgment.
“I kept having a temptation to want to see it, but with the recognition always in the back of my mind that this thing may land on my desk,” Newsom told Murphy. “I don’t want to be persuaded by something that’s not in the files.”
The producer joked that Newsom could finally watch the series on Labor Day, since the parole board’s recommendation is expected by the end of August.
“I’m going to see if I made the right decision,” Newsom replied with a laugh.
During their one-on-one lunch before the series premiered, Murphy told Newsom the show would spark intense debate.
“And you start talking to me about this, and you all but said ‘I’m sorry,’” Newsom said. “And I didn’t fully appreciate how right you were to be sorry.”
“Monsters” and the documentary, “The Menendez Brothers,” largely contributed to renewed fascination with the 1996 trial, leading to the bombshell resentencing hearing in Los Angeles Superior Court, where Judge Michael Jesic reduced their life-without-parole sentences to 50-to-life, making them eligible for parole consideration.
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In a news conference following the ruling on Wednesday, May 14, Newsom explained the multi-layered process of considering the Menendez brothers’ eligibility for release. The governor said that, before any decision is finalized, a team of forensic psychologists conducted individualized risk assessments on each brother.
“We thought that would be prudent to do,” he said, saying that those assessments have been “debated” not only by Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman and the victims’ family, but also by the judge “both publicly in another conversation, some of it behind closed doors.”
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The topic of the brothers’ Comprehensive Risk Assessments (CRA) has been a sticking point for Hochman. The brothers were marked as “moderate risk,” an increase from their previous “low risk” assessment.
The moderate risk increase came after each report found that the brothers, in recent months, had been cited for breaking prison rules for contraband violations, specifically the possession of cellphones.
Hochman shared the findings about Lyle Menendez first, whose “actions perpetrated deceit,” speaking about the contraband phone. He added that Lyle had “downplayed his rule-breaking” and that his report showed his “entitlement and willingness to meet his own needs.”
Along with the illicit cellphone usage, Erik was flagged for possessing and dealing drugs, as well as helping other inmates with tax fraud.
Hochman, who ran on a tough-on-crime platform, has been vocal about the brothers’ lack of rehabilitation.
In Sunday’s podcast episode, Newsom said that parole decisions rely on “well-established criteria,” such as in-prison behavior and psychiatric evaluations.
During a prior lunch conversation, Murphy told Newsom he initially opposed the brothers’ release but changed his perspective while working on the series, after hearing from actors and writers involved in the project.
“I really do think they should be released,” Murphy said. “I was astonished at how I went into something with such a predetermined point of view and came out of it at the end of it thinking.”
Murphy explained he was especially moved by the brothers’ decadeslong good behavior and the unity within their family.
“If not now, when? What benefit to society do we have by keeping them there if they can come out of prison and actually serve some good? I think that’s a powerful thing,” Murphy said.
MENENDEZ BROTHERS ASK CALIFORNIA GOV. NEWSOM FOR CLEMENCY
Newsom acknowledged the moral debate surrounding the case.
“The flip side is I’ve had people say, ‘What good can come from sending a message that you can kill both of your parents and be released?’”
He also pointed out that many serving sentences don’t have the same level of access to high-profile advocates or opportunities as the Menendez brothers do. At the same time, he added, others who have committed even more severe crimes have been granted parole and served less time.
“It’s a very slippery slope, and it’s a really hard road, and I feel for you,” Murphy said.
In August 1989, Beverly Hills socialites José and Kitty Menendez were shot to death in their home.
Hochman previously called the murders “mafia-like hits,” remarking on the violent nature of the repeated rounds that were fired at the parents.
The brothers, then 18 and 21, were convicted in 1996.
The defense’s assertion was that the brothers had been driven to violence by years of physical and sexual abuse at their father’s hands.
Despite the first trial resulting in a hung juror, leading to their eventual conviction in 1996, the public has remained divided on whether the brothers acted in greed or in self-defense.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Newsom’s office for comment.
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