Judge Judy reveals her hot take on the Menendez brothers case

The brothers are currently in prison for the 1989 shotgun murder of their parents

Judge Judy has weighed in on the Menendez brothers case less than one month before they are scheduled for a parole hearing.

The popular 82-year-old television court show judge, whose real name is Judith Susan Sheindlin, revealed in an interview with USA Today what she thinks should happen to Erik and Lyle Menendez, who are currently in prison for the 1989 shotgun murder of their parents, Mary Louise “Kitty” Menendez and Jose Menendez.

“What we know about the Menendez brothers is that they killed both of their parents,” Sheindlin told the publication. “As we know, after they killed their parents, they went on a buying spree. They got a jury trial, and they were sentenced to life imprisonment without parole.”

Despite the brother’s resentencing a few months ago, granting them the chance to be released on parole, Sheindlin said she would not have made that decision if she were the judge in the courtroom.

“They've done incredibly well in prison, but that doesn't mean they get another chance,” she said. “That is their sentence. Until Kitty Menendez can stand up before a judge and say, ‘Give them another chance,’ the jury and the courts have spoken. Now you have my answer. I'm going to get a lot of flak for that.”

‘They've done incredibly well in prison, but that doesn't mean they get another chance,’ Sheindlin said (Getty Images for Keep Memory Ali)

Defense attorneys argued during the 1996 trial that the brothers acted out of self-defense after years of sexual abuse by their father, but prosecutors argued that they killed their parents for a multimillion-dollar inheritance.

After serving 35 years in prison, the brothers had their prison sentences reduced in May 2025 from life without parole to 50 years to life, which will make them eligible for parole under California’s youthful offender law because they committed the crime under the age of 26. The brothers were 18 and 21 at the time of the killings.

They are currently awaiting an August 22 parole board hearing to determine if they will be released from prison.

Sheindlin’s comments come as attorney Mark Geragos has called for Erik’s immediate release from prison due to a “serious medical condition.”

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The specifics of Erik’s condition have not been disclosed, though TMZ later reported on Tuesday he is suffering from kidney stones.

“Erik is having a serious medical condition right now,” Geragos told TMZ.

“I just think he should be parole furloughed, I think is the proper term, and he could be medically furloughed in advance of the hearing so that he can work with the parole attorney and get up to speed and be ready and do it and give it his best shot. I think that it's the only fair and equitable thing to do,” he said.

Geragos confirmed that Erik has been receiving treatment at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego, California.