Erik Menendez, who is serving a life sentence alongside brother Lyle Menendez for murdering their parents in 1989, was not granted parole after a hearing Thursday. Lyle Menendez's parole hearing is scheduled to be held Friday.
Erik Menendez's legal team cannot appeal the decision, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) has not taken a definitive stance on the case. In February, he requested that the parole board conduct a "comprehensive risk assessment" on whether the brothers would pose a threat to public safety if released.
The parole board's decision would have provided the best opportunity for Erik Menendez to be released from prison after a three-decade campaign supported by several members of his family and intense public attention on the case.
The Menendez family has largely stood by the brothers, maintaining that they carried out the shotgun slayings of Jose and Kitty Menendez in self-defense after suffering physical and sexual abuse at the hands of their father. But prosecutors argued at trial that the brothers killed their parents for financial benefit, citing the lavish spending spree they went on afterward.
Attorneys for the brothers have said there is new evidence to support their defense, including a letter that Erik Menendez wrote months before the murders detailing his father's alleged abuse.
The case received renewed public interest last year after the release of a Netflix series about the brothers. It also became a political football during the fall election for Los Angeles district attorney after the county's top prosecutor at the time, George Gascón, requested that the brothers be resentenced in late October. Gascón lost reelection to Nathan Hochman, who, after vowing to review the case, asked the court in March to withdraw his predecessor's motion.
The Menendez brothers were still resentenced in May, changing their original sentence of life without the possibility of parole to one of 50 years to life.
Hochman has questioned whether the brothers are fit for rehabilitation.
"Erik and Lyle continue to maintain their lie that their parents wanted to kill them," prosecutors wrote in a court filing ahead of the parole hearings. "Thus, the evidence demonstrates that Erik and Lyle lack full insight into their crimes and are therefore neither rehabilitated nor suitable for resentencing."
Before the hearing, members of the Menendez family said in a statement through the Justice for Erik and Lyle Coalition that they were "cautiously optimistic" that there would be a favorable decision. The statement thanked those who wrote letters of support for the brothers, which played a factor in a Los Angeles judge's decision in April to resentence them.
"It's a reminder that no paper file can fully capture a person's character," the statement added. "But we see it. Correctional staff see it. Now, we hope the parole commissioners will see the same."