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Erik Menendez was denied parole by a California board this week, more than 30 years after he was sentenced to prison for killing his parents. Erik, who, along with his brother Lyle Menende, was convicted in 1993 of murdering their parents, has been found by the board to “continue to pose an unreasonable risk to public safety.”

The board’s five-hour-and-50-minute parole hearing this week “considered evidence of Mr. Menendez’s rehabilitation, positive prison programming and disciplinary record, and arguments made by those who support and oppose his release,” the Associated Press reports.

More than a dozen family members, as well as prosecutors from the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office, appeared before the panel and ultimately recommended Erik remain in prison.

Explaining the decision to deny Erik parole, Parole Commissioner Robert Barton said that while the board did not believe he would murder if released, it took into account “not just the circumstances of the original crime, but other things, such as your behavior in prison.”

Erik, now in his 50s, is eligible for parole in three years. Afterward, he has two more opportunities for release.

“I think you need to take full advantage of your great support network because if you start violating again, then you know what’s going to happen,” Barton told Erik, per the AP.

Barton cited Erik’s past criminal record as a teenager, the “heinous, atrocious nature of this crime,” and “serious violations” Erik has committed in prison to support the board’s decision.

In his decades in prison, Erik has had nine prison rule violations, including the use and possession of illegal drugs, as well as contraband such as a cell phone and lighter. Several corrections staff have also written in his support, calling him a “model inmate,” but Barton challenged the characterization. Erik told the board that he was only convinced that he might get parole last year and that his thinking on his crimes and himself “transformed” when he changed his “consequential thinking.”

Several family members were emotional as they testified in Erik’s support. His cousin Tiffani Lucero-Pastor, the great-niece of the Menendez brothers’ mother, Kitty, spoke of the pain of the murders, and how they had “devastated us and divided us. It has caused us panic and anxiety.”

Others have said that Kitty’s failure to act on the abuse that her sons said she perpetrated against them at home exacerbated their fear. Kitty’s niece Karen Mae Vandermolen-Copley said her aunt’s “absence of protection deepened their fear and confusion,” per the Los Angeles Times. Kitty’s brother, Milton Andersen, was the only relative known to oppose Erik’s parole.

A family statement after the board’s ruling expressed both disappointment and respect for the decision. “Our belief in Erik remains unwavering,” the family said. “His remorse, 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

As for Lyle, Erik’s older brother, he is up for parole next. On Friday, he will go before the board to make his case for release, with the panel reviewing his record of rehabilitation and prison conduct, among other factors. Lyle’s disciplinary violations in prison have been slightly less than Erik’s, but his actions during the killings could count heavily against him.

As part of the original 1993 trial, Lyle testified that he shot multiple blasts from a shotgun into both his mother and father at close range. Barton noted in his remarks this week that Lyle’s mother’s death was “devoid of human compassion.”

He has also been faulted for inconsistencies in his claims of abuse from their father. At one point, prosecutors have noted, Lyle Menendez asked his girlfriend to lie and say that he had drugged and raped her. These claims may bode poorly for Lyle, despite the support of many family members who will likely speak on his behalf as well.

The parole hearings come as a result of both Lyle and Erik being resentenced in May from life without parole to 50 years to life. It was their first eligibility for parole.

The high-profile trial of the brothers in the mid-1990s drew international attention, fueled by their allegations that they killed their parents after years of abuse. Prosecutors, meanwhile, have argued that the motive was financial in nature. They had access to their father’s fortune.

Newsom also has the power to block either of their releases despite the board’s decision. Under a 1988 state law, the governor may approve, deny, or modify parole board decisions of all those convicted of murder and sentenced to terms that are not fixed.

The board will review its decision internally for up to 120 days before then giving Newsom 30 days to make a decision. California governors have been reluctant in the past to release high-profile prisoners, experts say.

“Every governor is fairly allergic to releasing high-profile defendants,” Christopher Hawthorne, a professor at Loyola Law School, said in an interview. Past governors like Pete Wilson, Gray Davis, and Arnold Schwarzenegger almost never allowed parole, he added. But Jerry Brown and Gavin Newsom have “really flipped the script” on such cases in the last decade.

The Menendez brothers’ fame, however, may create another situation. “The governor has to look at not only public safety, but also do these folks really understand what they’ve done?” Hawthorne said.

For now, Erik Menendez must continue to serve his time. Lyle soon will learn if he has the option to seek parole a second time—or if both will continue the same path they were on for the past 30 years.