Richey heading for UK today
Death Row Scot finally freed yesterday after 20 years
Kenny Richey, the Scot who spent 20 years on Death Row in the USA following the death of a two year old girl in a fire in an apartment block, is expected to return to the UK today after being freed by an Ohio court yesterday.
An earlier hearing, scheduled for before Christmas, did not go ahead when Richey was taken unwell and had to be admitted to hospital.
Yesterday he pleaded "no contest" to a reduced charge, for which he was sentenced to 21 years - the time he has already served.
Richey (43) has always maintained his innocence of the crime. His appeals against conviction centred on claims of tainted evidence and other possible causes of the fire being withheld from the trial court. An appeal court eventually ordered that Richey be retried or set free, and the present plea bargain followed.
Had he accepted a plea bargain to arson and manslaughter charges at the outset, he would have been sentenced to only 11 years.
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