Why It Took Over 20 Years For The Menendez Brothers To Reunite In Prison

Even in a decade of high-profile court cases like O.J. Simpson's and Jeffrey Dahmer's — the Menendez brothers' trials stood out. Erik and Lyle Menendez might have lived their lives and passed into obscurity if not for the orchestrated and brutal 1989 murder of their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez. Committed in their family's Beverly Hills home with a pair of shotguns, the Menendez brothers called the murders retribution for years of sexual abuse suffered at the hands of their father, Jose. After a mistrial in 1994, it took until 1996 for the brothers to be convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole. They've been behind bars ever since.

But, the Menendez brothers were kept in separate facilities — at least for the majority of their prison terms. Despite requesting to be housed together after being sentenced in 1996, Erik went to Pleasant Valley State Prison and Lyle to Mule Creek State Prison. Both facilities are in California but separated by about 200 miles. And while the brothers have carried on their lives since then, and even had romantic relationships (Erik has been married to his wife, Tammi, since 1999), the brothers have always wanted to be back together.   

In 2018, Erik and Lyle got their wish. The two not only saw each other for the first time in 22 years but Lyle got moved to Erik's current prison, R.J. Donovan Correctional Facility. Prison policy kept them separate for decades, plus, perhaps fear of their ability to collaborate and influence the Californian judiciary and public.

It shouldn't be too hard to see why brothers who conspired to murder their parents weren't granted the privilege of being housed in the same correctional facility. Prisons are places for rehabilitation, yes, but also punishment. As the Los Angeles Times quotes Detective Les Zoeller back in 1996 when the brothers received their life sentences without parole, "They conspired to commit the murders together. They conspired to get out of the crimes together. I think that by putting them together, everybody's at risk."

At the same time, Menendez representatives railed against the separation as cruel and overly punitive. Per the Los Angeles Times, Deputy Public Defender Terri Towery of Lyle's team said, "This will make their life sentences even more miserable. I think it's really, really sad and I'm sorry that our society has become so vindictive." Defense attorney Leslie H. Abramson of Erik's team said, "I'm outraged. This is torture! I'm going to war against the Department of Corrections." From that point on the Menendez team relentlessly lobbied the Californian judiciary to ameliorate the Menendez brothers' sentences, even to reduce them to 50 years rather than life.

This might be part of the reason why the brothers were kept separate — to reduce their power to influence court and public opinion. But, it was also a matter of prison regulations. The brothers were originally categorized as "maximum security inmates," which kept them separate not only from each other but also from other people in prison. 

In 2018, the Menendez brothers got their two-decades-long wish to reunite. Erik Menendez had been moved to R.J. Donovan Correctional Facility five years earlier in 2013, and Lyle joined him come 2018. But even though Lyle made the move in February that year, authorities made him wait until April to physically see Erik. Per The Latin Times, journalist Robert Rand called the reunion "deeply emotional." He stated that the brothers, "embraced for several minutes without saying a word," and that correctional personnel even let them spend an hour together.

While it's not clear what decisions or pressures led to Erik and Lyle being housed together, the brothers currently share increased rights and privileges. They don't share a cell, but they do see each other in the prison yard every day. They also both live in what Biography calls a "non-designated programming facility" dubbed "Echo Yard." Echo Yard is reserved for inmates who've demonstrated good behavior over the years and includes perks like educational opportunities, art and yoga classes, and rehabilitative groups that address problems like anger and substance abuse. As "Group A" prisoners, they also receive perks like phone calls and video calls on tablets. But despite such privileges, it's still lights out by 9 p.m. for both of them, separated as they are by cells within the same prison.