Richey back on death row
29 Nov 05
US Supreme Court reverses decision to overturn Kenny Richey's murder conviction
The US Supreme Court has thrown out an appeal court decision to overturn Scot Kenny Richey's conviction for murder.
The 41-year-old who grew up in Edinburgh has been on death row in Ohio for nearly 20 years following his conviction over an arson attack in 1986 which killed a two-year-old girl.
The Supreme Court announced last night that appeal judges in Ohio were wrong to rule in Richey's favour that he had received inadequate legal representation at his trial. The case will now be sent back to to the state court for consideration - a process that could take more than a year, according to Richey's lawyer.
Prosecutors claimed that Richey set fire to the flat in revenge against his ex-girlfriend, who was living there with her new boyfriend. They escaped unharmed, but the woman's young daughter died in the attack. At the state appeal hearing, defence lawyer Kenneth Parsigan argued that there was not enough evidence to support the police theory of arson and that Richey started it, or that he had intended to kill anyone.
Mr Parsigan said that yesterday's ruling seemed to be based on issues that did not come up at the appeal. He added that it would be at least six months, but probably closer to a year before the state court would take another look at the case.