Convicted Nevada killer asks for parole for a second time

Former death row inmate John Mazzan, who pleaded guilty to the 1978 killing of a Reno judge's son and later admitted to killing the victim's girlfriend, has requested parole for a second time.

The state parole board, which rejected Mazzan's first request three years ago, is expected to announce its decision on the latest request in two to three weeks.

During a hearing Tuesday, parole commissioners repeatedly asked Mazzan to explain why he fatally stabbed Richard Minor Jr. and April Barber more than 25 years ago.

"There was no reason for it to happen. There was no excuse for it. It should never have happened," Mazzan said.

Mazzan, 58, was convicted and sentenced to death for slaying Minor, who was found at his home by his father, then-Reno Justice of the Peace Richard Minor. The elder Minor, later a Washoe District Court judge, died early this year after battling cancer.

Barber's body was found in a shallow grave off Interstate 80 several months after Minor was killed. Prosecutors decided against charging Mazzan with her murder since they already had achieved a death sentence for Minor's slaying, Reno homicide Detective Dave Jenkins said.

Mazzan appealed his conviction and in 2000, the Nevada Supreme Court ruled that the prosecution had withheld other potential witnesses in the trial and sent the case back to district court.

Mazzan struck a deal with prosecutors and pleaded guilty to killing Minor in exchange for dismissal of charges related to Barber's death. Washoe County District Judge Peter Breen sentenced him to life in prison with parole possible after 10 years. With credit for time served, he immediately became eligible for a parole hearing.

In his initial parole hearing three years ago, Mazzan admitted publicly for the first time that he killed Barber.