Heart surgery for Death Row Scot Richey

Concerns over his condition led Amnesty International Scotland to call yesterday for the United States courts to speed up legal processes surrounding his appeal and rule as soon as possible on whether he should be released.
Richey was sentenced to death in 1987 after being convicted of murdering two-year-old Cynthia Collins by setting fire to her mother's apartment.
He has always denied any involvement and last year his conviction was quashed by an American court of appeal.
That decision was later overturned by the US Supreme Court, crushing Richey's hope of an imminent release.
The case has now gone back to the court of appeal, which is expected to return its verdict in the next few months, say campaigners.
If the court upholds the previous verdict, then the authorities will have to re-try Richey within 30 days or release him.
Rosemary Burnett, spokeswoman for Amnesty International Scotland, said: "We are concerned that the uncertainty in which Kenny is being kept is contributing to his health problems. Keeping someone on death row for over 19 years is tantamount to mental torture."
She added: "Kenny has been living in legal limbo since his conviction was overturned in January last year.
"We urge the British government to continue to make representations to the US authorities on Kenny's case. We hope that the current legal processes see him released soon."
Karen Torley, Richey's former fiancée who ran a 12-year-campaign for his release, confirmed last night that Richey had had a heart attack and had undergone surgery to have a wire-meshed tube into an artery.
She said she had been told Richey was in a stable condition, but that his health had deteriorated following months of stress and uncertainty.
"The police warden and the nurse who looked after him confirmed he's doing fine," she said.
Ms Torley believes Richey may have already returned to prison after undergoing the surgery either at the Ohio State University Hospital in Columbus or the Corrections Medical Centre in the same city. "For security reasons they refuse to say where he was taken, but we assume it must have been one of the two [hospitals]."
Ms Torley said Richey had already had two heart attacks, when he was 36.
"A few years ago he had to be hooked up to a breathing apparatus because he stopped breathing during the night. I don't think he would survive a fourth attack," she said.
"There's been a lot of pressure on him over the last three months and all that's taking the toll on him. He's been under tremendous stress since November when they had him back on the death row."

Source:http://news.scotsman.com/scotland.cfm?id=1112752006

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