Getty Images (2) Erik Menéndez and Lyle Menéndez could be released on parole in their murder case - but what do their lives currently look like in prison? The brothers were arrested in 1990 on two counts of first-degree murder after their parents - José and Kitty - were found shot to death in their home. Lyle was 21 and Erik was 18 at the time of the murders and after two trials, they were sentenced to life without parole. Lyle and Erik have maintained that their mother and father were physically, emotionally and sexually abusive ahead of their deaths. While initially remaining in the same prison, Erik and Lyle were transferred after their sentencing. They reunited in 2018 when they were moved into the same housing unit at Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility. Their case received renewed support in September 2024 after becoming the focus of Ryan Murphy's Monsters series. Despite Erik publicly slamming the scripted show, he met with Cooper Koch, who played him on screen. What Else to Watch About Erik, Lyle Menendez's Murder Case After 'Monsters' "They've done so much amazing work in prison. Erik teaches meditation. He teaches speech classes. They're both incredible people," Koch told The Hollywood Reporter in September 2024. "I think back then, people just didn't believe that sexual abuse between males was something that you could believe and the easier pill to swallow was that they killed their parents for money. But now, after so much time, I think people are more open to understanding that something like that did happen." Koch added: "In fact, the warden told me himself that he feels like he'd be happy to have them as his neighbors and that he would be comfortable letting them watch his children. I think that says a lot!" With support from Koch - and reality-star-turned-prison-reform-activist Kim Kardashian - Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón announced in October 2024 that a hearing has been set due to new evidence. That same month, Gascón recommended that a judge resentence Erik and Lyle. Keep scrolling for insight into Erik and Lyle's day-to-day lives in prison: Past Issues Kypros/Getty Images Erik reflected on his adjustment to life behind bars, telling People in 2005, "The cell I live in is tiny ... about 6′ by 4′. Two people live in the cell. The cell is so small that only one person can be up off the bunks at a time. There is a commode and a sink." It was hard for him to adjust to the "violent noises" in prison. "It is very difficult to live with. It always affects you. And you have to keep to your own business," he noted. "There might be 300 to 400 people in the yard at a time and at any moment a fight could break out. In the past month, two inmates have been murdered. You have to stay away from the yard bullies." Erik revealed he was bullied when he was initially sentenced. "I was picked on for being bullied violently and it was traumatic and continual. There's a thing that a lot of inmates in prison go through when they're not part of a gang structure. They come in and they're basically a lone wolf. They just have to be by themselves," he detailed on the "2 Angry Men" podcast in February 2025. "Prison can be hard, and there's a lot of suffering here. So I was like, 'I'm not going to fight back. I'm not going to engage.' I had no one to really turn to for help since I was separated from Lyle." Erik continued: "I remember the day that I was told Lyle just got assaulted and got his jaw broken. ... It was difficult and that's why it took years to work out of it because you have to find yourself in prison. I believe that Corrections is doing their best. They're really trying. But 25 years ago, it was an even darker and more dangerous place." What Does 'Monsters' Get Wrong About Erik and Lyle Menendez's Murder Case? Current Examples of Improvement Ted Soqui/Sygma via Getty Images In a statement to Biography.com in September 2024, the California Department of Corrections & Rehabilitation offered an update on Erik and Lyle's behavior, writing, "During his incarceration, Erik Menendez has incurred two serious rules violations. Joseph [Lyle] Menendez has incurred no rules violations." Erik and Lyle's good behavior paved the way for them to live in a "non-designated programming facility" at Donovan. The unit is known as Echo Yard, which allows inmates more freedom, rehabilitative and educational programming. Those opportunities include yoga, art classes and more. In a rare interview, Erik gave an example of his day-to-day schedule, telling People in 2005 again, "I get up at 6 a.m. At 6:20 I have breakfast. I meditate at 6:50. Starting at 7:30 I read and write in my journal. We'll either have a morning yard time starting at 9:30 or an afternoon yard time starting at 2:00 p.m. At two o'clock I start my job. I will try and call [wife] Tammi [Menéndez] in the afternoon. I'll then work until 8:00 p.m. At 9:00 p.m. we're locked down. I generally go to sleep around 10:30 p.m." Timeline of Erik, Lyle Mene