Conviction quashed for death row Briton

5.03.23pm UTC (GMT +0000) Wed 26th Jan 2005

London's Liberal Democrat MEP Baroness Sarah Ludford has welcomed the quashing by a US Appeals Court of the murder conviction of death row Briton Kenny Richey. The judges said there had been flaws in the original trial.

Sarah Ludford, who has actively supported Kenny's campaign for justice, said:

"I hope this excellent news means the end of Kenny's ordeal. Apart from being wrong in principle, the death penalty carries the risk that innocent people could be executed."

"I congratulate Kenny's support team on the steadfastness of their resolve and effectiveness of their campaign. It's a lesson in what determined pressure can achieve, especially when the public and politicians have persuaded our government to get tough on behalf of a British citizen suffering a gross miscarriage of justice."

Kenny Richey, convicted in 1987, has consistently denied that he committed the crime of arson and aggravated murder of a 2 year old girl who died of smoke inhalation in her mother's apartment. At one stage of the legal proceedings a prosecutor said of new evidence "Even though [it] may establish Mr Richey's innocence, the Ohio and United States constitution nonetheless allow him to be executed because the prosecution did not know that the scientific testimony offered at the trial was false and unreliable."

Sarah Ludford has lobbied extensively on Kenny Richey's behalf, writing successively to the Prime Minister, the Home Secretary, the Foreign Secretary, President George W Bush, the Governor of Ohio and a US Federal Court of Appeal to urge consideration of the new forensic evidence which undermined the basis for his conviction.

The judgement, coming just 2 days before the 18th anniversary of Kenny Richey first being put on Death Row, means that he will walk free within 90 days unless state prosecutors seek a re-trial.