Crew brothers lose chance at clemency

Thursday, Nov. 21, 2002 | 10:53 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Overriding Gov. Kenny Guinn, the state Pardons Board voted Wednesday to deny clemency to Norman and Russell Crew, convicted in the March 1981 killing of two men in Las Vegas in a drug deal gone bad.

George Nasse, father of Michael Nasse, one of the victims, said he was happy with the decision and said the Crew brothers deserved a tougher penalty than four consecutive life terms. He said he hopes they serve another 20 years in addition to the 21 they have already served.

Marisa Zappa, sister of Theodore "Teddy" Zappa Jr., the other victim, said she was "thankful to the justices" of the Supreme Court who voted to deny the request to allow the brothers to apply for parole release earlier.

Teddy Zappa and Michael Nasse were shot to death, their throats slit and buried in a shallow grave near Lake Mead.

The Pardons Board is composed of the governor, attorney general and the seven members of the Supreme Court. It voted 6-3 against reducing the terms. Justice Bob Rose was the only court member who favored an earlier date for eligibility of parole.

Glen Crew, a police officer and the father of the two, had pleaded with the board to grant a reduction in the sentences. After the vote he said he had no comment.

The earliest the brothers will be able to be freed from prison is in 2010, if they have a clean record in prison and are approved by the Parole Board in their first applications.

Norman Crew, 43, told the Pardons Board he has "seen the destruction of the families" whose offspring were killed. "I regret causing pain," he said, adding he has earned college degrees and worked in prison industries to try to better himself.

Russell Crew, 41, said there was "sorrow eating inside of me" for the killings. "I beg the board for mercy."

During his statement, Marisa Zappa broke down and cried in the audience.

The emotional hearing lasted several hours.

The Crews wanted to be eligible to apply to the Parole Board for release in 2004. They will still appear before the board in two years, and if they get favorable action, they will begin serving their final 10-year term.

Glen Crew said he has watched his sons "develop from the black hole of time." He said they have remorse for their killings and they have matured in prison.

"You'll never see them back again," the father promised.

But Clark A. Peterson, chief deputy district attorney and capital case coordinator for the Clark County district attorney's office, opposed any clemency. He said Russell Crew has been a "periodic management problem" in prison.

He said Russell has been found with contraband, tested positive for drugs and made a call to a woman civilian, telling her how to purchase, package and smuggle drugs into the prison.

At a Pardons Board hearing 10 years ago, Peterson said, Norman Crew said he was working as an undercover drug agent for the police. Peterson said he checked with the officer Crew said he worked with and found out that was a "false representation."

Peterson said it was Russell who pulled the trigger and Norman who slit the throats of the victims.

Prison Director Jackie Crawford offered the board a compromise position to allow the two brothers to apply for parole to be released in 2006 instead than 2010. But that was voted down, 5-4 with Guinn on the losing side.

Crawford, in explaining her suggestion, said inmates sentenced at an early age grow in prison but then peak and their behavior begins to deteriorate after 20 to 25 years. She said the Crews have strong family, which would help them if they are released.

"It's a decision whether we want retribution or rehabilitation," she told the board.

Marisa Zappa said her father died of a "broken heart" two years after his son was killed. She told the board that Flo Jones Crew, the men's mother, offered her, through a third party, $20,000 last year to drop her opposition to clemency.

Both Zappa and Nasse said the two victims were good boys who were not involved in drugs. Nasse said his son was 21 years old and was going to go to college. "My son was not a drug dealer," Nasse said.

Ulrich Smith another lawyer, spoke in behalf of the Crews, saying they were 19 and 21 years old when the shooting took place. He said the brothers "maintain it was a drug deal that went bad and they killed the two victims in self-defense." He said 22 years in prison is a long time and urged the board "allow these men some hope."

At the end of the hearing, Guinn said this would be the last hearing of the pardons board for the Crews. He said they have been seen twice and hundreds of other inmates are waiting their turn to appear.