In two hearings, California parole panels said the brothers should not be released from prison 36 years after they killed their parents.

Lyle and Erik Menendez, who were convicted in 1996 for murdering their parents in their Beverly Hills mansion, were denied parole this week in California despite a wave of public sympathy fueled by documentaries, dramatizations and social media campaigns that cast new light on their case.

The Menendez brothers will make their cases for parole starting Thursday, marking the closest they’ve been to winning freedom from prison since their convictions almost 30 years ago for murdering their parents.