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Erik Menendez will remain behind bars for the foreseeable future after a California parole board this week denied him parole following more than three decades in prison. The board found that Erik, who was convicted of killing his parents with his brother Lyle in 1989, continues to pose “an unreasonable risk to public safety.”

During a nearly 10-hour parole hearing last month, the board considered Erik’s rehabilitation and prison record as well as arguments for and against his release. Prosecutors with the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office recommended against parole, while more than a dozen family members spoke on Erik’s behalf.

In the end, the board agreed with the prosecutors, citing Erik’s criminal record as a teenager, the violent nature of the crime, and “serious violations” of prison rules. Erik, who is in his 50s, is not eligible for another parole hearing for three years. Parole Commissioner Robert Barton detailed the decision and explained that it was not just the murder of the brothers’ parents that was a factor in the decision, but Erik’s behavior in prison as well.

“One can pose a risk to public safety in many ways, with many types of criminal conduct, including the ones you were guilty of in prison,” Barton told Erik. He encouraged Erik to “avail yourself even more of your great support network” to prevent future infractions.

Erik has nine documented violations of prison rules since his arrest, including being found in possession of drugs and cell phones. While several members of the prison staff have penned letters to the parole board on Erik’s behalf as a “model inmate,” Barton questioned whether that was the most appropriate term for his behavior. Erik said that it wasn’t until last year that he felt he could be released, which changed the way he thought about the future, or what he called his “consequential thinking.”

Family members who testified on Erik’s behalf included several who were in tears as they recounted the lasting pain and division of the past 35 years. They also expressed forgiveness, both of Erik and Lyle, for their crimes. “To say that our family has experienced pain does not quite capture what the last 35 years have been like,” Tiffani Lucero-Pastor, the great-niece of the Menendez brothers’ mother, Kitty, said. “It has divided us. It has caused us panic and anxiety.”

Karen Mae Vandermolen-Copley, Kitty’s niece, offered another explanation: that Kitty’s failure to stop the alleged abuse at home only compounded the brothers’ fears. “Your aunt Kitty’s absence of protection deepened their fear and confusion,” Vandermolen-Copley said.

The only known family member to oppose Erik’s parole was Kitty’s brother, Milton Andersen, who died earlier this year.

In a statement following the board’s decision, the family said it respected but disagreed with the parole board’s decision. “Our belief in Erik remains unwavering,” the statement read. “His remorse, his growth, and the positive impact he’s had on others speak for themselves. We will continue to stand by him and hold to the hope he can return home soon.”

Lyle Menendez to Face Parole Hearing, Governor Holds Final Say

Erik’s brother, Lyle Menende, will have his own parole hearing before the board next Friday. At that hearing, the parole board will also weigh Lyle’s history of rehabilitation and prison conduct against the actions that led to his brother’s denial. Although Lyle’s prison record is only slightly better than Erik’s, his behavior during the killings may be the key factor.

Lyle testified during the original 1993 trial that he had shot both of their parents with a shotgun at close range. According to Barton, who this week was asked to write a report on the case, the way their mother died was “devoid of human compassion.”

Lyle’s accounts of abuse by their father have also come into question, with prosecutors accusing him at times of making up the allegations or exaggerating them. At one point, the prosecutors said, he even asked his girlfriend to lie to police and claim his father had drugged and raped her. Lyle’s case may prove more complicated than Erik’s, although his family members have said they, too, will be testifying on his behalf.

The parole hearings for the brothers come after both were resentenced this May from life without the possibility of parole to 50 years to life, making them eligible for parole for the first time. The high-profile case is one of the most well-known murder trials in California history, in part because the brothers argued they killed out of fear after years of abuse by their parents. Prosecutors have for years said the killings were motivated by money, due to the large fortune their father had.

Ultimately, California Governor Gavin Newsom has the final say on both men’s fate. Under a state law passed in 1988, the governor has the power to affirm, deny, or modify the parole board’s decisions for any person convicted of murder and sentenced to an indeterminate prison term. The board will first do an internal review of its decision for up to 120 days before the governor has 30 days to make a decision.