Bail release imminent for former Nevada death-row inmate

Brendan Riley

Wednesday, May 3, 2000 | 3:11 a.m.

RENO, Nev. - Jack Mazzan, who spent 20 years on Nevada's death row for a murder he says he didn't commit, hoped for release on bail late today three months after his conviction was canceled.

Washoe District Judge Peter Breen said he's satisfied with all bail arrangements, including security, but wanted a final look at paperwork on Mazzan's $100,000 bail before releasing him.

"I'm the first to set him free, so I have to be satisfied," the judge said at a morning hearing.

Last week, Breen had ruled property put up by a woman who's known Mazzan for years was adequate to cover his $100,000 bail while prosecutors move ahead with plans to retry him for the drug-related murder of a former Reno judge's son.

But the judge required Lavonia Young to submit proof her three adult children agreed with her decision. They're beneficiaries of a family trust that she controls.

The Nevada Supreme Court reversed Mazzan's conviction on Jan. 27, and his lawyers, JoNell Thomas and Robert Langford, had said delays in his release were disappointing.

But Thomas said, "Jack's been waiting for 22 years ... He's all right. He sees the light there."

Mazzan, 53, was arrested shortly after the 1978 killing of Richard Minor Jr. He was convicted of first-degree murder in 1979 and was put on death row in January 1980.

In reversing his conviction, the Supreme Court blasted prosecutors for failing to give the defense information about other suspects that might have cleared Mazzan.

Minor's body was found in his apartment by his father, then Reno Justice of the Peace Richard C. Minor. Judge Minor, now retired, has said he always doubted the state's theory that one person, acting alone, was responsible for the killing.

Young, whose daughter helped Mazzan come to Reno about 23 years ago, said she offered to post her property for his bail because she believes he's innocent.

The district attorney's office had opposed bail for Mazzan, contending he might flee rather than face another murder trial. Mazzan's lawyers dismissed that argument.

Breen plans a June 16 hearing on various motions in advance of a scheduled July 10 retrial of Mazzan.

One of those motions is a defense request to block prosecutors from seeking the death penalty again because it would be an unconstitutionally disproportionate sentence compared with other capital cases.

"This is not even on the charts in being a death penalty case," Thomas said.