The Michigan Daily Vol. LXXXVI, No. 37-S Ann Arbor, Michigan-Thursday, July 1, 1976 Ten Cents Twelve Pages VA suspects released By BARBARA ZAHS and LANI JORDAN Special to The Daily DETROIT - The two nurses accused of murdering patients at the Ann Arbor Veterans Administration (VA) Hospital were released from jail yesterday after- noon, after posting $7,500 bond each and agreeing to meet several court-set con- ditions. "This is a happy day for them," said Laurence Burgess, the Detroit attorney for Leonora Perez, one of the two de- fendants. THE BOND MONEY for Perez, 32, and Filipina Narciso, 30, was raised by family members and friends, the law- yer added. The two women had been held in Washtenaw County Jail since June 16 in connection with the series of mys- terious deaths and breathing failures that took place at the VA Hospital last summer. Both were employed in the hospital's Intensive Care Unit at that time. A federal grand jury studied the in- formation gathered in a ten-month FBI investigation and indicted the nurses on five counts of first-degree murder and one count of conspiracy to commit mur- der. The nurses have been accused of killing the five patients and poisoning ten others by injecting them with Pavu- ton, a powerful muscle-relaxing drug. BAIL FOR PEREZ was originally set at $500,000, while Narciso had been de- nied any bond at all. On Monday, U.S. District Court Judge Philip Pratt or- dered bond for the women to be re-set at $75,000 each. He stipulated that the women would be released if they could come up with ten per cent of that amount in cash. Perez and Narciso posted bond yester- day following a hearing in Pratt's De- troit courtroom. Burgess said that neither of the wom- en encountered any problems in rais- ing the money. BEFORE PEREZ AND NARCISO were released, Pratt called them before him and asked if they would promise to surrender all passports and travel docu- ments and to report to a court officer weekly. The women also consented to limit their travel and residency to Wayne and Washtenaw Counties. In addition, the judge required the nurses to designate a person to main- tain contact with each defendant and report to the court if either woman in- dicates that she might try to leave the country. THE. PROSECUTION had feared that the suspects might be tempted to flee to their native Philippines if released on bond because there is no extradition treaty between the United States and that country. Following the hearing, which was at- tended by a small group of friends and supporters, Narciso returned home to Ypsilanti. Perez went to stay with rela- tives in Ann Arbor. Both women are now free indefinitely pending the start of their trial. An exact date has not yet been set, but law re- quires that the proceedings begin with- in 180 days. Federal prosecutors have indicated that they know the motive for the killing of the five patients, but refuse to disclose it until the trial begins: Other sources have said that the motive for the mur- ders was dissatisfaction with working conditions at the hospital's Intensive Care Unit, although Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Delonis has dismissed these re- ports as "speculation." High court strikes down 'gag order' A CUSTOMER (left) at the Arcade post office, puts a package into'the mail. This office, the busiest branch in the city, may close soon when the new Federal Building operns. Post office mnay close By BARBARA ZAHS Another Ann Arbor landmark may be about to fall. The 60-year-old post office nestled in the southwest corner of Nickel's Arcade may be forced to close next April when the new Federal Build- tng oens downtown. OVER the years, University stu- dents and faculty members have en- joyed using the convenient Arcade station, located just across the street from campus. Thousands have waited for service in seemingly infinite lines in the tiny post office. But financial difficulties that have plagued the U. S. Postal Service may force users of both the Arcade office and another station on Main St. to use the new postal facilities in the Federal Building, currently under construction. Postmaster Richard Schneeberger, whose decision will shape the future of the office, expressed his personal hope that the historic facility will not be closed. "YOU HAVE to ask, 'Can you justify keeping it open?"' he said, but added, "I sure hope so. It's a de- lightful place." "We will be taking transaction See ARCADE, Page 2 WASHINGTON y) -- The Supreme Court yesterday restricted the power of judges to censor news media reporting of criminal cases before they come to trial. By a unanimous vote, the court struck down a "gag order" issued by a Nebras- ka judge last October prohibiting pre- trial reporting of facts about a widely publicized mass murder case, including information brought out at an open pre- liminary hearing. CHIEF JUSTICE Warren Burger said the court did not rule out the possibility that an order restraining publication sometimes might be justified to protect the accused person's right to a fair trial. But he said that the "barriers . . remain high" against such action and that District Judge Hugh Stuart of North Platte, Neb., did not surmount them in his order restricting publicity on the case of Erwin Charles Simants. E. Barrett Prettyman, a Washington lawyer who represented Nebraska news organizations challenging Stuart's or- der, said there was "no doubt at all" that the decision would severely limit the ability of judges to issue such or- ders. "AT LEAST five of the justices go even further than the chief justice and indicate that in no way are these orders going to pass muster," he said. In North Platte, Stuart told reporters, "Obviously I made a mistake if they overruled it. I was just doing my job." Simants, 29, an unemployed fence re- pairman, was arrested last Oct. 22 and charged with killing six members of a Sutherland, Neb., family, some of whom were sexually assaulted. Stuart's order limiting publicity about the case remain- ed in effect, and was complied with, un- til a jury was selected. Simants was convicted in January and has since ap- pealed. THE COURT said Stuart's order was "clearly invalid" to the extent that it prohibited the reporting of testimony in open court. "To the extent that it prohibited pub- lication based on information gained from other sources, we conclude that the heavy burden imposed as a condition to securing a prior restraint was not met," the court said. Justices Byron White, harry Black- mun, Lewis Powell and William Rehn- quist joined in Burger's opinion. White also added a separate opinion saying he had "grave doubt" whether any such order could ever be justified and be- lieved that the eventually the court pro- bably should say so. See GAG, Page 2 :.