Richey on brink of freedom as prosecutor's plea rejected

Ken Parsigian, Richey?s lawyer, was unavailable for comment yesterday, but he has said he believes a retrial is unlikely. Since the 1987 trial, one key witness has changed her statement, another is too ill to testify and scientific evidence has been called into question.

Richey, 40, originally from Edinburgh, won an appeal against his conviction in January this year. One of the reasons given was the "incompetent" work by his lawyer at the original trial.

He was convicted of the murder of Cynthia Collins, the two-year-old daughter of a friend, in an arson attack in 1986.

His successful appeal was challenged in February by the Ohio attorney general, Jim Petro. He filed a request for a "rehearing en banc" - which means for all 12 judges of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati, not just the three original panel members who overturned Richey?s conviction, to rehear the case. Mr Petro claimed the panel of three failed to follow adequate standards of review.

Yesterday, Richey?s fiancé, Karen Torley, from Glasgow, said she was delighted with the decision. "I am pleased that the court has denied Ohio?s request to have another hearing," she said. "This injustice has gone on long enough. It?s time to set Kenny free and let him live with his family."

Amnesty International UK and pressure group, Reprieve, also welcomed the news. Kate Allen, director of Amnesty International UK, said: "Kenny has endured 18 years on death row fighting to clear his name after a flawed trial. It is surely time for Ohio to accept the view of its senior court and set about releasing this man immediately."

Clive Stafford-Smith, the founder of Reprieve, said he was "confident" that if the prosecutors took time to review all the evidence "they will come to the conclusion that Kenny is innocent and end the case".

Richey?s case has attracted numerous high-profile supporters over the years. Those who have spoken out on his behalf include the late pope, John Paul II, a former Archbishop of Canterbury and US actress and anti-death penalty campaigner Susan Sarandon.

At least one of the 12 appeal judges abstained from the process, due to previous involvement in the case.