The Menendez brothers are currently housed at Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in Otay Mesa, California. NBC San Diego was there on Thursday afternoon to take a look at life inside for the convicted killers.
After their conviction, Lyle and Erik Menendez reunited in 2018 at the San Diego prison. They live in the same building — not in the same cell but in the same cell block.
Staffers tell NBC San Diego they spend a lot of free time together. They lunch together, and if a judge agrees to this recommendation, they’ll walk out of there together.
After more than three decades behind bars, Erik Menendez is now 53, and his older brother Lyle is 56.
They reside in an area of the prison known as Echo Yard. Inmates earn the right to be in there through cooperative rehabilitation and good behavior. Video provided to NBC San Diego by the prison shows the 1,000-foot mural that both Menendez brothers helped paint in 2020. Other Echo Yard offerings include raising and training service dogs, learning money management, yoga and art classes.
In June of 2024, NBC San Diego cameras were rolling for the first time that 24 inmates in the unit earned their college degrees. Lyle Menendez was among them. His degree is in sociology.
That is life inside.
NBC San Diego asked former probation officer, Cameran Gary, who is also a retired San Diego County District Attorney investigator, what life outside might be like.
“They won’t just be able to go anywhere at any time. They would have to get permission. They just can’t get on a plane and fly to Nebraska,“ Gary said.
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Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón is recommending resentencing and the Menendez brothers' immediate release, time served. The process will not exactly be that fast.
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation shared with NBC San Diego a three-page document which outlines all the steps that must be followed and conditions that must be met for resentencing and release.
In part of a statement, CDCR spokesperson Pedro Calderon told NBC San Diego: “If a court resentences a defendant, it issues a new abstract of judgment (AOJ) to CDCR. In all cases, CDCR is committed to processing the AOJ as quickly as possible while complying with legal mandates.”
Gary says, ultimately, the judge’s decision comes down to this question.
“Are we, as a society, willing to accept this type of offender? Are we willing to look at this type of person and say OK we believe they paid their debt to society? Are we willing to accept them back in and give them another chance?“ Gary said.
While they await the judge’s decision, there will be some changes to the Menendez brothers’ routine at the prison. Officials won’t say what that might be, but a spokesperson says that information could be released in the coming days.
Gascón intends to submit his resentencing recommendation to the court on Friday.
