Death-Row Briton is Ready to Fly Home

Jan 08, 06:03 PM

By William Lowther

A BRITON who spent 21 years on death row in America was released last night - but said he was frightened of freedom.

Kenny Richey, of Edinburgh, will come home tomorrow.

The 43-year-old was convicted in 1987 of an arson attack on an Ohio apartment block in which a toddler died.

His momentous legal struggle ended last night in the same court where he was sentenced to death for killing two-year-old Cynthia Collins.

Murder and arson charges were dropped under a plea bargain, and Richey pleaded guilty to attempted involuntary manslaughter.

He told the Mail: 'I have been so long on death row that freedom has lost its meaning.

I'm worried. I'm frightened.' He was officially cleared last year of torching his ex-girlfriend's flat, killing Cynthia as she slept in an adjoining room.

Richey has now admitted to the lesser offence of reneging on a promise to babysit the two-year-old girl - which meant she was left to die alone when the fire broke out.

He will be met at the airport by his mother Eileen.

He is also likely to be reunited with his Minnesotabased ex-wife Wendy, with whom he has rekindled a relationship from behind bars.

However, his hopes of hugging his son Sean - whom he last saw as a four-month-old - will not be realised. The 22- year-old was arrested last month for violating probation.

Of returning to Scotland, Richey said: 'I want to walk, just walk without really knowing where I'm going. And I don't care about the weather.

'I want to be cold after all these years living in prisons where it's so hot you can hardly breathe.'