Lammers considering options in Richey case

Lammers wants to meet with officials from the Ohio Attorney General's Office to discuss all options, which include appealing a court ruling that overturned Kenneth Richey's conviction and ordered he be retried or released within 90 days.

Lammers also will discuss the option of retrying Richey and will ask for help if he does retry the case, he said. He hopes to meet with state officials this week, ponder his options and make a decision, he said.

"I want to have a plan. I want to have a roadmap as to where we're going with this. And that needs to be done as soon as possible," he said.

He also will talk to the victim's family to see how they feel about the options available.

Richey was convicted in the 1986 death of 2-year-old Cynthia Collins in a Columbus Grove apartment fire. His case has captured worldwide attention because he shares American and British citizenship. Richey was sentenced to death. He remains on death row.

Lammers plans to explore the option of whether he can seek the death penalty against Richey. He is not sure what charges Richey would face until he reviews all the evidence, but it could be something such as the original charges of aggravated murder, aggravated arson and child endangering, he said.

Lammers said he wants to make a decision sooner than later.

"I don't want this lingering out there," he said.

Earlier this month, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati for a second time overturned Richey's conviction and death sentence, ordering he be retried or released within 90 days. The court said Richey's trial attorneys failed to provide adequate representation.

The state has the option of appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Richey's case was overturned more than two years ago by the same judges at the 6th Circuit, who then ruled he had inadequate represention at trial. They also declared Ohio's transfer-of-intent law for murder invalid saying Richey hit the wrong target, the little girl, not his ex-girlfriend.

But the Supreme Court overturned the 6th Circuit on the transfer-of-intent issue saying he still killed someone and could be convicted of aggravated murder. On the ineffective assistance of counsel issue, the nation's highest court sent the case back to the 6th Circuit to reconsider, which is what the 6th Circuit ruled on early this month in a 2-1 decision.

One of the flaws the 6th Circuit said Richey's original legal team made dealt with the arson investigator they hired to defend Richey. The investigator turned out to be a better witness for the prosecution.