UK Man Granted New Trial in Ohio Arson Murder

reuters.com ^ | 1-25-2005 | reuters

[LadyShallott]

CHICAGO (Reuters) - A Scottish man sent to Ohio's death row in 1987 for setting a fire that killed a 2-year-old girl was granted a new trial on Tuesday by an appeals court that described his original defense as incompetent. The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals' scathing opinion recounted defense attorneys' mistakes committed during Scottish native Kenneth Richey's original trial and the injustices of his numerous failed appeals.

Richey, 40, who had been diagnosed with behavioral problems before coming to the United States to live with his American father, became a global cause celebre that elicited pleas for mercy from a British parliamentarian to Ohio Gov. Robert Taft.

Richey was convicted of the 1986 murder of Cynthia Collins by a three-judge panel after the defense's own forensic expert ended up testifying for the prosecution.

Collins was the daughter of Richey's ex-girlfriend whom he was baby-sitting following a night of parties. He admitted to being drunk that night, but his repeated efforts to save the girl from the fire were not seen as credible at the time of his trial.

The appeals court noted numerous errors in the collection and analysis of scientific evidence in the case, such as state experts who identified flammable paint thinner in rug samples that had been discarded as garbage weeks after the blaze.

A few witnesses recanted testimony that Richey was in a jealous rage the night of the blaze and had threatened to burn his girlfriend's apartment, according to the court's recitation of fresh evidence uncovered by a new defense team.

The appeals court, in reversing a lower court and ordering a new trial, called Richey's original defense "incompetent," adding that had it not been for "counsel's grave mistakes," Richey might have been found innocent