June 30
OHIO:
Freedom Bid D-Day for Death Row Briton
A Briton who has lived on death row in the United States for almost 19
years will finally be told today whether he is to be set free.
Edinburgh-born Kenny Richey was convicted of murdering 1-year-old Cynthia
Collins, who died of smoke inhalation in an Ohio fire 19 years ago today.
The 41-year-old was accused of deliberately starting the blaze in a
jealous bid to kill his ex-girlfriend who was sleeping downstairs with a
new man. Richey has always protested his innocence. When his conviction
was overturned earlier this year, prosecutors were given 90 days to retry
the case or set him free.
The decision will be announced by Putnam County prosecutor Gary Lammers
late this afternoon.
Richey's fiancee, Karen Torley, said she was optimistic but that either
way, they did not fear a retrial.
"The ongoing campaign has always been to get a retrial so the truth could
be heard and I've no doubt that if Kenny is retried his name will be
cleared," she said.
"There is no way they can win."
Asked how Kenny felt at the prospect of a retrial, she laughed and quoted
him as saying: "Well, good luck to them!"
Richey's lawyer, Ken Parsigian, said he was "cautiously optimistic" the
Scot would be released.
"There are a lot of factors to consider but it's an extremely weak case,"
he said. "They have lost 2 of their key witnesses, we destroyed their
evidence and the guy's already spent 19 years in jail."
Mr Lammers has been researching case documents and interviewing potential
witnesses since discussing his options with representatives from the
office of Ohio Attorney General Jim Petro last week.
Although Richey can no longer be charged under the death penalty, the
prosecutor has said new charges could still be brought.
The state has until July 14 to appeal against the 6th US Circuit Court of
Appeals ruling that Richey had incompetent legal counsel at his original
trial.
If Mr Lammers does not retry the case, Richey could be released within a
week but may be barred from returning to Scotland pending a decision from
the Supreme Court.
Mr Parsigian believes the state will keep him in jail until the 90-day
deadline expires on September 1.
"No one likes admitting they were wrong," he said. "They have him and they
will want to keep him, it's no more fanciful than that."
Despite the deliberate caution, many are optimistic that Richey's ordeal
will soon come to an end.
PR guru Max Clifford has already been hired to co-ordinate his publicity
and control media access if and when he returns home.
(source: The Scotsman)
