Putnam County prosecutor agrees to retry Richey

After putting their heads together today in Putnam County, the state announced it is proceeding with its previously announced plan not to appeal the recent federal court decision overturning Richey's conviction and ordering the state to retry him within 90 days or release him.

The attorney general's office will assist in the prosecution, said Leo Jennings, spokesman for Attorney General Marc Dann.

"We appreciated the chance to go up and meet with the prosecutor to talk about the legal ramifications and alternatives, and we've come to an agreement on how to proceed,'' he said.

He had requested the meeting after the attorney general's office went public with its decision not to appeal the recent federal ruling overturning the 43-year-old Scot's conviction before getting the prosecutor on board.

The state has maintained that Richey set a fire to kill his ex-girlfriend and lover, but unintentionally killed Cynthia Collins in an upstairs apartment instead. He was babysitting the child at the time.

The U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, however, questioned the strength of the state's arson evidence and found that Richey's lawyer was inadequate in challenging it at trial.

The attorney general's office has said it believes the U.S. Supreme Court would be unlikely to hear a second appeal in the case. It has instead focused on proceeding to Richey's retrial with the assumption that he would be transferred from Mansfield Correctional Institution to the Putnam County jail in the interim.

U.S. District Court in Toledo has yet to issue a formal order officially starting the 90-day clock for Richey to be retried or released.