Death Row Scot Free In A Week

[Peter Parka]

Death row Scot 'free in a week'
A Briton who has been on death row in the US for 21 years is expected to be freed in one week, his lawyer has said. Kenny Richey has agreed a plea deal which will allow him to walk free and fly home to Scotland once a court hearing has taken place on 7 January.
It had been scheduled for 20 December, but was postponed after a heart scare.
Richey, who has come within an hour of execution, was convicted in 1987 for a fire which killed a toddler, but last August that conviction was overturned.
'Jealous attack'
His lawyer, Ken Parsigan, said the 7 January hearing would take place at 1pm in Ohio - about 6pm in the UK.
"The only reason that will not take place is if he winds up in hospital again. He will leave to fly back to Scotland on 8 January," Mr Parsigan said.
At the earlier hearing, Richey had planned to plead no contest to attempted involuntary manslaughter, child endangering and breaking and entering.
The plea would see him being sentenced to time already served.
A no contest plea is not an admission of guilt, but a statement that no defence will be presented.
Richey, originally from Edinburgh, was put on death row in January 1987 after being convicted of starting a fire in which two-year-old Cynthia Collins died.
Prosecutors claimed he began the fire as a jealous attack on his former girlfriend and her new lover, who lived in the flat beneath.
The Scot, who has always protested his innocence, refused a plea bargain which would have led to an 11-year sentence for arson and manslaughter.

Story from BBC NEWS:

I've been following this case for 10 years and I'm relieved that finally he's going to be released. The poor guy is going to have such a struggle coping when he's released though. I'm just relieved that at least in this case an innocent man hasn't been executed.

 

[GraceAbounds]

What new evidence cleared him?

 

[Peter Parka]

It's been a very long, involved struggle to free him but you can best read about it on this site.

Torley.org - when blind justice becomes blind injustice

 

[GraceAbounds]

I could not find an answer to my question on that link w/o a butt load of reading. Thanks anyways.

 

[Peter Parka]

I could not find an answer to my question on that link w/o a butt load of reading. Thanks anyways.

Well here's the most striking facts of the case to save you reading through a load of stuff.

• Kenny had broken his hand a week earlier and it was in a plaster cast. A witness also saw him drunk, collapsing in the bushes outside the apartment block. He could hardly have climbed up a steep roof on a shed, over to a balcony and into the flat holding gas cans without making a lot of noise - if at all.
  His ex girlfriend and her new boyfriend, who claimed to be light sleepers, had heard nothing even though their bedroom window was open and just meters from the shed.
• No traces of accelerants could be found on Kenny's clothing or boots, even though he were supposed to have splashed such liquids over the carpet and floor.
  Nor were any gas-cans ever found, and the person from whom such should allegedly have been stolen couldn't tell if he were missing any.
• No evidence that Kenny disabled the smoke alarm was presented, in fact one of Hope's friends reported that the smoke alarm had been disconnected earlier during the day.
  Nevertheless the panel of Judges stated that the disconnecting of the smoke alarm made the crime premeditated - which was the basis for the Death Penalty verdict.
• The building owner were authorized to gut the flat. Had arson been suspected, no such authorization would have been given - the flat would have had to be sealed off for investigation.
  As it is, evidence was taken to the dump and then later to the local sheriff's forecourt where it was placed near a petrol pump.
• The local fire chief had been called to the flat on three separate occasions in the preceding weeks to investigate the mysterious appearance of smoke in the flat.
  Moreover Cynthia Collins had started fires in the flat more than once.
  The defense didn't get this information.
• The forensic tests that had initially been carried out on the carpet were wholly unreliable - affidavits testifying to this fact was given by two of Americas most respected scientists in the field and submitted on appeal.
  Tests on the carpet made by the same scientists showed no ignitable substances at all.
  They also testified that the characteristics left by the fire in the flat were not consistent with arson but with accidental fire.

 

[GraceAbounds]

Was that the 'new' evidence that cleared him?

 

[debbie t]

how can there be justice if people dont have decent representation and all facts and evidence presented...thats not justice.

and this poor man has not only spent 20 years in hell but was within one hour of getting strapped down and killed before a reprieve

 

[Peter Parka]

Was that the 'new' evidence that cleared him?

Not so much new evidence but evidence the've been struggling to be allowed to present for years!

 

[Peter Parka]

how can there be justice if people dont have decent representation and all facts and evidence presented...thats not justice.

and this poor man has not only spent 20 years in hell but was within one hour of getting strapped down and killed before a reprieve

That's the American system for you, much higher chance you'll end up on death row if you can't afford decent lawyers!
Kenny was also due to get the electric chair rather than lethal injection because he refused to choose his method of execution, he also could have been freed years ago if he had accepted some stupid plea bargain which meant admitting his guilt.
This is one seriously messed up case and a good enough reason for me why there shouldn't be the death penalty!

 

[GraceAbounds]

Not so much new evidence but evidence the've been struggling to be allowed to present for years!

Gotcha. I see now says the blind man. Thanks for explaining.

 

[Peter Parka]

Return to UK for death row Scot
Kenny Richey is due to return to the UK following his release from prison in the US. Richey reached a plea deal with prosecutors over an arson attack in which a two-year-old girl died in Putnam County, Ohio, in 1986.
He thanked those who "never doubted" him and said he was looking forward to "going home to Scotland".
The 43-year-old, who was brought up in Edinburgh, is expected to arrive in the city on Wednesday.

After spending the night at the home of his brother Steven, Richey is expected to leave Dayton, Ohio, on Tuesday afternoon on a flight to Chicago before flying first to Heathrow, London, and then on to Edinburgh on Wednesday afternoon.
He was convicted in 1987 of an arson attack on an apartment block in which Cynthia Collins, two, died but the sentence was overturned in August last year.
On Monday, he pleaded no contest to charges of attempted involuntary manslaughter, child endangering and breaking and entering at the Putnam County Common Pleas Court in Ottawa, Ohio.




He was sentenced to a total of 21 years - time which he has already served, most of it on death row.
On his release from the Putnam County jail Richey told reporters: "It's been a long time coming."

He faced an angry reaction in court to his plea deal from relatives of Cynthia Collins, who told him to "burn in hell".
In a statement read at the hearing, Cynthia's father, Robert Collins, said: "I just wish Cynthia could appeal her death and come back to life."
Karen Torley, Richey's former fiancée and long-time campaigner for his release, said he faced tough challenges coping with life in Scotland after 21 years in prison.


Ms Torley said: "He's going to find it hard to cope I think, to adjust to all the different things.
"He's been in prison half of his life and now he's going to come home and try to make choices and try to live a normal life and I think he's going to find that really hard once the excitement of being free is over."
Richey left his mother's home in Edinburgh at 18 to live with his American father in Ohio.
On his return to the UK, PR guru Max Clifford will represent the former convict.
Mr Clifford dismissed criticism that Richey should not be able to profit from his time in prison.
He said: "It's the kind of money that will hopefully tide him over the first year of freedom because he's not getting millions of pounds of compensation for the 21 years he's been locked up.
"This is the only chance he's got of making some money."

Story from BBC NEWS:

Glad he's finally been released though the plea bargain was a farce which was designed so he wasn't able to receive over $1 million in compensation. 21 years for not babysitting when he supposedly said he would and nicking some flowers. The little girls mother only got a few days in jail and 3 years probation for the same offense and she went out to a party and left a 2 year old alone!:mad
It's going to be really hard for him but I wish him all the best.

 

[Peter Parka]

Freed Richey reunited with family
Kenny Richey, the Scot who was on death row in the US for 20 years, has spent his first day of freedom being reunited with family members. Richey, originally from Edinburgh, was freed after reaching a plea deal with prosecutors over an arson attack in which a two-year-old girl died in 1986.
His lawyer said Richey, 43, had a steak lunch with family members before spending the evening with his brother.
He will now fly to the UK, arriving in Edinburgh on Wednesday afternoon.

No contest
His lawyer Ken Parsigian said Richey had a "really loving, warm, lovely, private time" at lunch.
He said: "He got a New York strip, and he was happy."
"He then spent the evening with his family and reconnected with many people."
Richey, who left his mother's home in Edinburgh at the age of 18 to live with his American father in Ohio, was convicted in 1987 of the arson attack on an apartment block in an Ohio town in which two-year-old Cynthia Collins died.
But in August last year the sentence was overturned. On Monday, he pleaded no contest to charges of attempted involuntary manslaughter, child endangering and breaking and entering at the Putnam County Common Pleas Court in Ottawa, Ohio.




He was sentenced to a total of 21 years - time which he has already served, most of it on death row.
His first night of freedom was spent with his brother Steven.
Richey is now returning to the UK via Chicago airport.
He will fly to London and then Edinburgh.
He is due to arrive in Scotland at 1400 GMT on Wednesday.
PR guru Max Clifford, who is representing Richey, revealed the 43-year-old has sold his story to two newspapers which will whisk him away when he arrives at Edinburgh.
Richey's lawyer said that, despite fears Richey would be overwhelmed by the outside world after years in prison, he appeared to be adjusting well.
'Warm and loving'
Ken Parsigian said: "There was much more anxiety before the actual day than on the actual day."
He said: "He got into civilian clothes for the first time, and he seemed to transform into a civilian. It was quite a smooth transition, I was surprised."
"It was almost like the clothes made the difference."
Many people can seem "cold and distant" after so many years locked away, but for Richey the opposite seemed true, the lawyer said.
"He was warm and loving and comfortable with it right away," he said.
After his release, Richey thanked all those who "never doubted my innocence" and said he was looking forward to "going home to Scotland".
But he added: "It's been a long time coming."

Story from BBC NEWS:

Please explain to me why the death penalty is a good idea after this because fucked if I can see it!:mad