Speaker 1: Hey, they're folks. It as Friday, August twenty second. It's
Speaker 1: not a done deal yet. Just because Eric Menindez was
Speaker 1: denied parole yesterday doesn't mean necessarily that his brother automatically
Speaker 1: is going to meet the same fate today at his
Speaker 1: parole hearing. With that, welcome everybody to this episode of
Speaker 1: Amy and TJ. Yes, what a day, what a night
Speaker 1: it was. We were ob late last night waiting on
Speaker 1: word about Eric Menindez, but we did get word. After
Speaker 1: all this time he was going to be denied. Now
Speaker 1: the brothers, the Menindez brothers, back to back days, they're
Speaker 1: essentially running it back today, same time, same place, same crime,
Speaker 1: But it doesn't mean they're going to get the same result.
Speaker 1: Eric and Lyle Mendez, you know their story by now,
Speaker 1: kill their parents in a horrific shooting. Back in nineteen
Speaker 1: eighty nine. They were convicted of the crime, sentenced through
Speaker 1: life in prison without the possibility of parole. But momentum
Speaker 1: with the past couple of years, new information that came out,
Speaker 1: and look documentaries came out, hit shows came out on Netflix.
Speaker 1: There was a new public interest and a push in
Speaker 1: understanding the trauma. Maybe that these boys say, they went
Speaker 1: through at the hands of their father with abuse. So
Speaker 1: things changed and momentum changed and sentiment changed to where
Speaker 1: they ended up getting their sentences changed. They were re
Speaker 1: sentenced to fifty years to life, which then made them
Speaker 1: immediately eligible for parole. And that is why we are
Speaker 1: where we are today. So Eric Menandez had his parole
Speaker 1: hearing yesterday, the first in thirty years that they've been
Speaker 1: in prison that either one of them have ever had
Speaker 1: such a thing that went ten hours. Look, they were
Speaker 1: talking yesterday, this thing was gonna go three It ended
Speaker 1: up going ten hours, and ultimately he was denied parole,
Speaker 1: which shocked at least a lot of the experts will
Speaker 1: tell you out there that we're talking ahead of time
Speaker 1: that yes, they thought he had a good chance. Yes,
Speaker 1: they thought the public sentiment was on his side. Yes,
Speaker 1: they believed there was a good sh chants that he
Speaker 1: was going to hear those words you have been granted parole.
Speaker 1: He heard something much different, And as the parole board
Speaker 1: and the commissioners explained, their logic is much different from
Speaker 1: the logic of the public. Let me explain now, Lamelndez
Speaker 1: say they're going to run it back. They really are
Speaker 1: doing pretty much the same routine as yesterday. It's going
Speaker 1: to start as of this recordings supposed to star. It's
Speaker 1: been going on about what an hour, so eleven thirty
Speaker 1: Eastern time, eight thirty local out there in California. They're
Speaker 1: both being housed at the San Diego prison. They're doing
Speaker 1: the video conference from prison. Again. They're not going physically
Speaker 1: to a courtroom for this, and it's all being done
Speaker 1: on video conference. There are no cameras in the courtroom,
Speaker 1: there's no audio in the courtroom. Only one poll reporter
Speaker 1: is allowed in there, and they can't disseminate the information
Speaker 1: as the hearing is going on. So that's yesterday. We
Speaker 1: were all waiting around here for ten hours for any
Speaker 1: sliver of information about what had happened in the parole
Speaker 1: board hearing. We are having to do that same process today.
Speaker 1: We're not going to be able to hear any information
Speaker 1: until the end and until a decision is made and
Speaker 1: all the back and forth and all the questioning and
Speaker 1: all the family statements, and the district attorney has an
Speaker 1: opportunity to speak as well, which they have clearly said
Speaker 1: they want the boys. I say the boys, and again
Speaker 1: you'll understand why I say that they were young men
Speaker 1: at the time of the desk, but they're grown men
Speaker 1: certainly now. So he has been Now Eric at least
Speaker 1: learned his fate. He can come back in three years
Speaker 1: try for parole again. Here is the fascinating part. Now
Speaker 1: we're getting more about why the board denied Eric parole
Speaker 1: and gives us some insight into what Lyle is going
Speaker 1: to be up against. So Eric and so much that
Speaker 1: you have heard how many times have you heard that
Speaker 1: the boys that the boys, sorry, these grown men have
Speaker 1: been model inmates, have been model prisoners, and therefore they
Speaker 1: have come. They have admitted to what they've done. They've
Speaker 1: shown remorse, they have been good prisons. They've started all
Speaker 1: these programs. They both have done college courses. One of
Speaker 1: them has a college degree and a master's, all these
Speaker 1: support groups that they've started. So doing all of these
Speaker 1: things in prison, that's fine. But still we're getting word
Speaker 1: from the commissioners that here is the issue, not the crime.
Speaker 1: It was actually what they've been doing in prison that's
Speaker 1: the problem. So they concluded that he quote poses an
Speaker 1: unreasonable risk to public safety because of serious violations of
Speaker 1: prison rules. They may clear we are not actually keeping
Speaker 1: you in prison because you viciously murdered your parents by
Speaker 1: shooting them more than ten times. Reloading, All right, that's
Speaker 1: actually not why we're keeping you in prison. It's his
Speaker 1: behavior in prison that is keeping him in prison, according
Speaker 1: to the commissioners, one of them saying, and I quote,
Speaker 1: one can pose a risk to public safety in many
Speaker 1: ways with several types of criminal behavior, including the ones
Speaker 1: you were guilty of in prison. Now, what were those
Speaker 1: crimes criminal behavior in prison? Well, they've laid out at
Speaker 1: least eight or nine rules violations he's had over the
Speaker 1: past thirty years that he's been in prison. A couple
Speaker 1: of those violations included instances of violence fights that he
Speaker 1: got into in prison. This is Eric Menendez we're talking about.
Speaker 1: He also had cell phones. You're not supposed to have
Speaker 1: illicit cell phones. To have illicit cell phone use in prison,
Speaker 1: he has done it on more than one occasion. District
Speaker 1: attorney says, actually one of those times was as recent
Speaker 1: as January when he had That was a time when
Speaker 1: a lot of legal back and forth was going on,
Speaker 1: and he had a cell phone in prison at that time.
Speaker 1: Who would do that? They argue, knowing that you need
Speaker 1: to be on your best behavior because you might have
Speaker 1: a parole hearing and you're trying to get out of prison.
Speaker 1: And still he was breaking the rules. Also, he was
Speaker 1: caught with drugs, they said, on a couple of occasions
Speaker 1: that came out. Also an issue where he allegedly helped
Speaker 1: a gang in a tax scheme. Now, Eric was able
Speaker 1: to explain that, at least yesterday, that he only did
Speaker 1: it because he was threatened by a prison gang if
Speaker 1: he didn't help. Still, Commissions didn't seem to be buying that.
Speaker 1: And also at one point he was found with supplies
Speaker 1: to make prison wine. Of all things. Now, with the
Speaker 1: commissioner considering all of this, said, and here's a very
Speaker 1: these may be two of the most meaningful quotes that
Speaker 1: we heard yesterday from the commissioner saying, one, I do
Speaker 1: believe in redemption, or I wouldn't do this job. But
Speaker 1: based on the legal standard, we find you continue to
Speaker 1: pose an unreasonable risk to public safety. Goes on to
Speaker 1: say this, contrary to your support beliefs, you have not
Speaker 1: been a model prisoner, and frankly, we find that a
Speaker 1: little disturbing. He went on. And they continue to talk about,
Speaker 1: yes the staff submitted things saying that he was a
Speaker 1: model inmate. These folks, the commissioners, look at this totally differently.
Speaker 1: Yes there is public sentiment, Yes there is a different
Speaker 1: understanding of abuse and trauma at this point. Yes, they
Speaker 1: have admitted to what they've done. Yes, they have done
Speaker 1: these programs, they've done all of these things. And the
Speaker 1: staff said, yes they are model inmates. From the view
Speaker 1: of these parole board, this parle board, they are not.
Speaker 1: They're not anywhere close. They are guys who have actually
Speaker 1: committed at least Eric, who has committed crimes, pretty serious
Speaker 1: ones while he has been in prison. At one point,
Speaker 1: the one thing about the crime they seem to be
Speaker 1: really hung up on and really disturbed by was the mom.
Speaker 1: Why did you have to shoot my dad? Was the one?
Speaker 1: Right that was abusive? Dad was the one that you feared.
Speaker 1: Dad was the one. So why did you have to
Speaker 1: viciously kill your mom? Shoot her? Repeatedly? And this is
Speaker 1: where some reloading took place. They were hung up on it,
Speaker 1: and they were asked directly, she didn't have to die,
Speaker 1: why did you shoot her? And Eric's only response is
Speaker 1: that he just wished he had not done it. They
Speaker 1: didn't believe at all, or it came up again, this
Speaker 1: idea of the they were under imminent threat, that they
Speaker 1: feared for their lives. But they were twenty one and
Speaker 1: eighteen who were clearly capable of walking out the house,
Speaker 1: picking up a phone, going to a police station. Yes,
Speaker 1: some people will say these folks were these young men
Speaker 1: were traumatized and abused by their dad, and you can't
Speaker 1: really hold that against them. Well, the proboard is telling
Speaker 1: them they had other options and other decisions to make
Speaker 1: besides shooting your parents a dozen times. But still they
Speaker 1: made clear this was about his behavior in prison. And
Speaker 1: so that's what now brings us to Lyle. And Lyle,
Speaker 1: if the parole board is going to be viewing more
Speaker 1: so and judging more so based on what Lyle did
Speaker 1: in prison, then he might actually have a better shot
Speaker 1: at getting out than his brother. We continue here now
Speaker 1: with as we speak, another parole board hearing is underway,
Speaker 1: this time for Lyle Menendez, the brother of Eric. Eric
Speaker 1: yesterday and his parole hearing was denied parole. He'll have
Speaker 1: to stay in prison, certainly at least another three years
Speaker 1: before he's eligible to be to go before the parole board. Again,
Speaker 1: his brother Lyle is up today, same crime, same circumstances,
Speaker 1: So why would we expect he could possibly have any
Speaker 1: different outcome? For this reason, One, he is speaking to
Speaker 1: a different set of parole commissioners, So the people who
Speaker 1: were there and judging the case of Eric Menindez are
Speaker 1: not going to be the same ones in there judging
Speaker 1: the case of Lyele Menndez. That could work to his favor,
Speaker 1: but it could also work against him. But the point
Speaker 1: there being, it's going to be a different set of eyes,
Speaker 1: So it's not an automatic that these are the same
Speaker 1: folks or they are going to be thinking the same
Speaker 1: way that they thought about Eric. The other thing is Lyle,
Speaker 1: while maybe he has not been a model prisoner, he's
Speaker 1: been closer to it than his brother Eric has. Now. Lyle,
Speaker 1: it appears, only has about five violations in prison rules
Speaker 1: violations over the thirty years, opposed to his brother's nine.
Speaker 1: I believe the prosecution has been saying but a or
Speaker 1: nine that his brother has. Yes, he has about half.
Speaker 1: He has far fewer, but one of the biggest deals
Speaker 1: he does not have any violence on his record. He
Speaker 1: has been in thirty years of prison. He has been
Speaker 1: there for thirty years incarcerated, and according to an assessment,
Speaker 1: he has not been a single fight in thirty years
Speaker 1: that he has been incarcerated. In fact, he had to
Speaker 1: be moved earlier in his when he first got into prison.
Speaker 1: He had to be moved because he was attacked and
Speaker 1: wouldn't fight back. Even so, he was essentially beat up,
Speaker 1: so they moved him through a special general population area
Speaker 1: because this was a guy who would not fight back.
Speaker 1: Now is that a big enough of a deal. Maybe
Speaker 1: this panel today is going to not put as much
Speaker 1: emphasis on what kind of prisoner or hey he has been,
Speaker 1: but maybe they put more emphasis on what kind of
Speaker 1: criminal he was in shooting and killing his parents, And
Speaker 1: maybe they are going to focus more so on the
Speaker 1: actual crime than what he's been doing in prison. We
Speaker 1: just don't know. We know the family that spoke yesterday.
Speaker 1: I think they said eighteen was the count. Family supporters
Speaker 1: spoke before the board and spoke up for Eric to
Speaker 1: get out of prison, and they have been supportive over
Speaker 1: the past couple of years. Heard an attorney speaking on television,
Speaker 1: can't remember who it was and where it was, but
Speaker 1: made the point that he has never seen in all
Speaker 1: his years as a prosecutor showing up to a parole hearing,
Speaker 1: and the victims' families are all pushing for the release
Speaker 1: of the person who killed their family member. Yes, all
Speaker 1: these people in the Eric in Lyle are related to
Speaker 1: these folks, but the family could very well say the
Speaker 1: hell with them, let them rot in jail because they
Speaker 1: killed our family members. But no, at least eighteen showed
Speaker 1: up and spoke spoke out about him getting out of prison.
Speaker 1: They did put out a statement. They expressed their disappointment
Speaker 1: in what happened with Eric Menendez yesterday, but said this,
Speaker 1: we turn our attention to Lyle's hearing, and while it
Speaker 1: is undoubtedly difficult, we remain cautiously optimistic and hopeful that
Speaker 1: the commissioner will see in Lyle what so many others have,
Speaker 1: a man who has taken responsibility, transformed his life, and
Speaker 1: is ready to come home again. Five violations. We shall
Speaker 1: see how much that plays into it. Look, I don't know,
Speaker 1: and I wouldn't believe anybody who told me how long
Speaker 1: this hearing is going to go today, because nobody was
Speaker 1: anticipating ten hours yesterday. And we are once again folks
Speaker 1: at the Mercy. I spoke on this before. This wasn't
Speaker 1: like the Diddy trial we covered, where there were several
Speaker 1: reporters in the room and they get in real time
Speaker 1: give us updates about testimony about things that were happening.
Speaker 1: This is not the case. This is not a public hearing.
Speaker 1: This is not a court hearing. I should say. There's
Speaker 1: no judge sitting in there. But this is supposed to
Speaker 1: be a private This is supposed to be confidential at least,
Speaker 1: but they do allow at least one person in there,
Speaker 1: a reporter, but they can't give us live updates. So, folks,
Speaker 1: we are standing by once again at this point. A
Speaker 1: lot of people expect, of course he's going to stay
Speaker 1: in prison as well, but they could absolutely shock us,
Speaker 1: surprise us once again at least, and if they do,
Speaker 1: it could ride on just how much better of a
Speaker 1: prisoner they think he has been the past thirty years
Speaker 1: than his brother has been. With that, folks, we are
Speaker 1: going to keep an eye on it. We will hop
Speaker 1: on and we will update you as soon as we
Speaker 1: get it. Robock will be back. I think you'll hear
Speaker 1: her voice in the next recording. She's on a plane
Speaker 1: landing very soon. But this case is of I mean
Speaker 1: incredible public interest over the past thirty five years now,
Speaker 1: and it just so happened. We mentioned this week August
Speaker 1: twentieth was the thirty sixth year anniversary of that killing,
Speaker 1: and all that just so happened, And this is happening
Speaker 1: on the very week of that anniversary. So folks say
Speaker 1: with us, keep an eye out and a reminder on
Speaker 1: your phone. The Apple podcast app top right, corn says
Speaker 1: follow Just click that and you'll get our updates automatically.
Speaker 1: Don't have to go you look searching for all right, folks, TJ.
Speaker 1: Holmes here see yes in