Scot 'will stay on death row at least 18 months'

Despite a complicated legal battle which almost saw him released last year, Richey, 41, who is facing execution for the killing of a child in a fire in Ohio in 1986, will mark 19 years on death row on 27 January.

Yesterday Karen Torley told a London meeting of women anti-death penalty campaigners, organised by Amnesty International UK, that the last year has been "the best and worst". She said: "We will have to wait for at least a year and a half for any chance of his freedom. Kenny is caught in wrangle over power between two courts. It hasn't got anything to do with evidence for the case."

Richey, of Edinburgh, was on the verge of freedom last year after an appeal court overturned his conviction and death sentence. But he remained on death row after the US Supreme Court ordered the lower court to reconsider its decision in November.

Ms Torley, 42, of Cambuslang, Glasgow, added: "The November decision was a kick in the guts, a severe blow.

"Kenny has tried to remain positive but he has had his hopes dashed so many times. Where he is, hope can be a dangerous thing."

(source: The Scotsman)