SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Now that the Menendez brothers are eligible for parole, we're learning more about what happens next in their hope for freedom.
On Tuesday, a judge changed their sentence from life without the possibility of parole to 50 years to life, with the possibility of parole. The two have admitted they murdered their parents back in 1989.
The brothers will remain at Donovan prison until their parole hearings are scheduled.
"A little bit surprised, yeah, I didn't know what would happen," said Laura Sheppard, a parole attorney in San Diego.
Because the men were under the age of 26 at the time they murdered their parents, they're immediately eligible for parole.
Sheppard said the next step for the brothers is to get a date for their hearings, which the board schedules five to six months in advance.
"Meaning they've already built the calendars for the physical hearings to take place. And so there's probably no room on the schedule until about 5 to 6 months from now," Sheppard said.
The men will be evaluated separately. The parole panel would be made up of two to three commissioners, who would evaluate their risk to the community, taking into account their risk assessment and their behavior in prison. Both men have had multiple violations while incarcerated.
"The board takes any write-up quite seriously. They view it as evidence of inability to conform to society's rules," Sheppard said.
If granted parole, Sheppard says there's still a roughly 5-month period for the decision to be finalized before the men could walk free. The governor has to sign off on it and has the power to veto the board's decision.
If denied by the board, they'd get another chance at parole, but it would be years before they could make their case for freedom again.
"The board then sets a term of years, how long until their next hearing. So the minimum is 3 years and then it can range up to 15 years," Sheppard said.
So far, their parole hearings haven't been scheduled.
