Kill Me Now or Let Me Go

Kenny has spent close to eighteen years behind bars, fighting literally for his existence. Even so just existing has not been enough, as he has refused deals that would have let him serve a lesser sentence or even had him transferred to Scotland.

That takes both a lot of guts, as well as a strong sense of personal honour. Both the deals offered expected him to plead guilty as a condition.

Now, for the first time, there is a real possibility of a retrial or even outright exoneration. But things drag on, maybe another six months or even a year. The sentiment that enough is enough is perfectly understandable.

As the case nears it?s end one way or the other, then the question what to do when it?s over surfaces for real. It has been asked before, but then it has just been an intellectual game of what-ifs. Now it is a real question.

Kenny looks in the mirror wondering ?what will this man do when released??
What he finds is that the person staring back, when free of the fighting and the fear of failure and execution, is an unknown entity...

Last time he was free, he was a young man in his early twenties. Being almost the same age as Kenny I can fully understand how confusing and shocking it would be to have such a large chunk of your life effectively gone. Much has of course happened ? but under circumstances so distinctly unnatural so as not to be a good basis in itself for moving on with your life. Basically he will have to reinvent himself.

Just as the traumatised soldier would have to.

To add injury to the insult, he will have to learn how to deal with all those that won?t believe his innocence no matter what, as well as a failing health and a void where his social life should be. Personal economy may or may not be a problem. What to do forthwith will be another problem, he will need to get in sync with the times, get an education and start a career at an age where most of us are in the middle of it.

Here comes some of the material prompting my comment:

DEATH ROW Scot Kenny Richey has made a dramatic demand to be executed rather than spend any more time in prison in America.

By Craig Robertson

Last week, in an exclusive interview with The Sunday Post, Richey (right) told how he is tired of the endless appeals process which has seen him wait 17 years for execution.

The 39-year-old says he wants the waiting to be at an end ? one way or the other. ?I want them to kill me. I want them to kill me now. ?Kill me or release me. I don?t care which. I just want an end to it.

?If they don?t do it to me then I?ll do it myself. Or I?ll create a situation in here where they will get the chance to kill me.?

Kenny Richey was sentenced to death in 1987 for the aggravated murder of two-year-old Cynthia Collins in Columbus, Ohio. Richey has repeated his desperate demands in a letter to his fiancee and campaign co-ordinator Karen Torley. The Glasgow mum says she is deeply worried by this prolonged bout of depression and the defeated tone of the note she received last week.

Exhausted and run-down

In an emotional letter he echoed the statements he made to The Sunday Post. ?I?m exhausted, tired and run-down,? he wrote. The person I was is no more. I don?t recognise the face I see in the mirror.

?I don?t think I care any more. I want them to kill me. Kill me or let me go.?

Karen Torley said, ?I am so worried about Kenny?s state of mind. I have never known him to be as depressed as this and it really upsets me.

?It?s the waiting. It?s being on Death Row for so long. He?s done in and past caring. I know he means it when he says he wants them to kill him. I just hope that mood passes.?

Kenny Richey?s final appeal is currently dragging its way through the courts and the Ohio Supreme Court is deliberating a technicality which could see him released.

However it is a move which would still leave the Scot branded a killer and he says he wouldn?t welcome being freed this way.

?I would still be branded as guilty. I want to be completely vindicated. If I?d just wanted out, I could have been. I had two chances to take deals that would have meant I?d have been home, living my life, if I?d admitted to something I didn?t do.

?I didn?t want that then and I don?t want it now. I want my name cleared completely.?

Death row Scot demands execution

Kenny Richey is one hearing away from execution

A Scot who is facing the death sentence in the US has said he would rather die than spend any more time in prison.

Edinburgh-born Kenny Richey was sentenced to death after being convicted of arson and the aggravated murder of a two-year-old girl in Ohio.

His case is currently in appeal, but Richey told the Sunday Post newspaper that he would rather be executed than spend any more time behind bars.

Richey, who has been in jail since 1986, insists he is innocent.

Last month his case was sent by judges at Ohio's federal appeals court for the US Sixth Circuit to the state's Supreme Court, to rule if his murder conviction was safe.

I want them to kill me. Kill me or release me. If they don't do it to me then I'll do it myself Kenny Richey

The judges have suggested Richey's conviction for capital murder might be unsafe and if so, he should be re-tried or released.

He is now one hearing away from execution, but the review of his case could take months and the Supreme Court has the power to reject the federal judges' findings.

'Kill me'

Richey also said he would rather commit suicide than spend any more time in prison.

"I want them to kill me. Kill me or release me. If they don't do it to me then I'll do it myself.

"Or I'll create a situation in here where they will get the chance to kill me," Richey said.

He has been on death row after refusing a plea-bargain which would have seen him paroled more than ten years ago.

Richey has been supported in his campaign to prove his innocence by 150 MPs in the House of Commons.

Last March, a motion was signed backing his claim after Prime Minister Tony Blair pledged to look into the case.

DEATH ROW SCOT: KILL ME OR LET ME GO

May 31 2004

Despairing murderer in plea to jail guards

By Marie Sharp

DEATH-ROW Scot Kenny Richey has told his jailers: 'Kill me or let me go.'

Depressed Richey, who was convicted of starting a fire that killed a two-year-old girl, made the plea as the US Supreme Court reviews his case.

The 39-year-old, who was born in Edinburgh, is said to have had enough of the constant fight to clear his name and wants an end - one way or another.

In a letter to his Scottish fiancee, Karen Torley, he said: 'I don't think I care any more. I want them to kill me.

'Kill me or let me go.'

The call has caused concern to Richey's campaigners, who believe they are closer than ever to securing his freedom.

In a breakthrough last month, federal judges in Ohio referred his case to the US Supreme Court to decide if the conviction was safe.

Richey, who is in Ohio State Penitentiary, was sentenced to death after being convicted of arson and the aggravated murder of two-year-old Cynthia Collins in 1986.

But his legal team insist he should not have been given the death penalty.

And federal judges say prosecutors may have broken the law by seeking the punishment for aggravated felony murder a crime which did not carry the death penalty at the time of the trial.

If it is found that the prosecution acted illegally, Richey's lawyers may be able to force a retrial or overturn the conviction.

But the Supreme Court review could take months.

Richey, 39, who has a Scottish mother and an American father, was found guilty of deliberately starting a fire that killed Cynthia.

It was claimed to have been an act of drunken revenge against his ex-girlfriend, Candy Barchet, who was asleep in the flat below.

However, he has always maintained his innocence, saying he had a broken arm on the night in question and could not, as prosecutors claimed, have climbed a roof and balcony while carrying petrol to start the fire.

A forensic expert in the US has already rubbished so-called evidence that petrol or paint stripper was used to start the fire.

It has also emerged that Cynthia, who had been left alone, had a fascination with matches and had previously started two fires in the flat.

Last month, 150 MPs signed a Commons motion backing Richey's claim of innocence after Tony Blair pledged to look into the case.

Amnesty International, who believe Richey has a compelling case, describe it as one of the best examples of an innocent man on Death Row.

But, despite the support Richey, has become depressed by the long appeals process.

And as his defence team inch closer to winning their case, there is concern for his mental health.

Fiancee Karen says she is worried he will not be able to cope with more lengthy court hearings.

She said: 'He is done in and past caring. I know he means it when he says he wants them to kill him.

'I have never known him to be this depressed.'