Former death row prisoner expresses relief

Sunday, 23 September 2007

A Scot who has spent more than 20 years on death row in America has spoken of his relief after he was finally moved to a lower security prison.

Kenny Richey from Edinburgh faces a retrial after his death sentence was quashed earlier this year.

He said it felt "great" to feel the wind in his hair for the first time in decades.

Richey added: "It's the first time I've had fresh air in a long time.

"Its the first time I've felt wind blowing through my hair in 21 years."

He was transferred from Ohio`s death row to another jail in the county where he was convicted more than 20 years ago.

Richey was convicted of starting an apartment fire in 1986 that killed a two-year-old girl in Columbus Grove in north-west Ohio.

He was sentenced to execution, but a federal appeals court threw out his conviction and death sentence last month.