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Wednesday, 4th November 2009 Change Date Latest Issue

Kenny Richey plans to quit 'goldfish bowl' Scotland and return to US

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Published Date: 16 October 2008
KENNY RICHEY wants to leave Scotland because he feels he is living in a goldfish bowl, it was reported today.
And the former Death Row prisoner says he will head back to the United States once he gets out of Edinburgh's Saughton jail and is treated for post-traumatic stress.

He said: "It sounds daft because I haven't even been back a year but I need to get away from Scotland - it's been like living in a goldfish bowl."

The 44-year-old is on remand after allegedly assaulting a 63-year-old man.

He said: "When I arrived home I got carried away and just wanted to make up for lost time and party all the time. After being wrongly locked up for 21 years who can blame me though?" He said he wants to return to the US to make up with his ex-wife Wendy and be reunited with his son Sean, 22.





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  • Last Updated: 16 October 2008 10:17 AM
  • Source: Edinburgh Evening News
  • Location: Edinburgh
  • Related Topics: Kenny Richey
 
1

Linmal,

Livingston 16/10/2008 11:26:03
Gosh Kenny, how we have missed you! Makes a change from the prams though!

I was one of the idiots who stuck up for you when you were in prison in Ohio. I still believe you were wrongly imprisoned but I also believe that the problems you have had since coming home have been largely of your own making something, I see, you admit to some extent.

I hope you will make a success of your life in the future, but take a bit of advice, accept help when it is offered. There are people out there who could help you to adjust and live a normal, decent life. It won't be easy, but nothing worth doing ever is.

Good luck and I hope never to hear anything adverse about you again. I'm not holding my breath but it would be great to be proved wrong.
2

The Baker,

16/10/2008 12:00:53
bye then, do you want a hand to pack or a lift to the airport maybe.


Good Riddance
3

Edin-Lad,

16/10/2008 12:28:26
Kenny, will you make your mind up ya numpty, you said to the evening news on the 26 June that you really hated that country.

Probably more to do with the fact that you are a laughing stock in Edinburgh and the only people who hang around with you are little daft laddies.
Kenny do us all a favour and get rid to anywhere just make sure it is out of Edinburgh so we do not have to listen to your constant whinings on how the world owes you a favour.
Is it true that when Kenny gets freed (before going to USA) he is hoping to gain lifetime honorary membership to the Edinburgh Young Team?????
4

P Phillips,

UK 16/10/2008 12:56:14
I admit to being another idiot who stuck up for him while you were on death row, but the way he's been rampaging around Edinburgh since being back is insulting to all those who campaigned to get him freed.
The Americans who said that he was a risk to society and would reoffend have been proved dead right.
What makes him think that they want him back anyway, and surely they can bar him if he's convicted of this assault? And I wouldn't like to bet on him not reoffending and being jailed yet again if he went back, let's face it, prison is all he's good for.
5

Wee Keef,

16/10/2008 13:16:57
Yeah, because the USA is going to welcome Kenny back with open arms.
6

Curious Yellow,

Edinburgh 16/10/2008 13:59:49
Nae chance Kenny. Just shut yer pus and keep yer heid doon.
7

2Right,

On Location 16/10/2008 14:20:52
Has anyone ever thought about why these type of people re-offend again when released in the fashion they are.

Nearly every Miscarriage of Justice re-offends at least once, some go on to more.

Not too long ago Raymond Gilmour while awaiting an appeal for murder (Which he has since won) was charged with "Flashing" and locked up again.

No-One in Scotland tries to understand the stress or physcological trauma of being wrongly convicted never mind be wrongly on "Death Row" for year after year.

Post Traumatic Stress can strike them at a flick of a switch, the same as is happening with so many Soldiers these days.

Only the Soldiers get treatment.

People like Kenny are basically flung out the door with no help whatever, where if on the other hand you are a sex offender you get help to change your name and get houses in Flats or near Schools where they can re-offend again and again.

People like Kenny Need help to re-integrate back into society and a normal community.
8

Beryltheperil ,

16/10/2008 14:21:57
I too was a supporter of Kenny Richeys, and I still believe he is innocent of the crime he was sentenced to death for but he really has not done himself any favours since he came back. He has lost a lot of friends and a lot of support over the past year due to his antics.

So now Kenny wants to go back to USA to make up with the ex wife and see his son.
If the ex wife wants to believe that he will change then she needs her head examined. She needs to remember he is an ex for a reason and also he humiliated her with a string of sordid affairs, all very publicly. He will do the same again to her.

If he wants out of the public eye why does he keep talking to the media? He should just keep his head down and his mouth shut! Its all his own making.

If he gets out of prison soon, I cannot see him going to any therapy. He will walk right into a pub and it will all begin again!

Where will he get the money to fly to USA I wonder?
9

Beryltheperil ,

16/10/2008 14:32:42
#8 2Right. Everything you say is correct. People who are released from prison in these circumstances do need help. And people do need to understand that being imprisoned for so long for something you did not do, then being released is very traumatic. You cannot expect people in this situation to come out of prison and act normal, their lives have been abnormal for so long as it is.

However, it is my understanding that Mr Richey refused ALL help he was offered when he got out.

The help was there and is there, but he has to want to take it. Maybe now he will take it. Maybe he won't, but without it, he is sure to die a very lonely death and not last much longer. Which is tragic.

I hope I am proved wrong and he does go on to make something of himself.
10

Eric D,

Alba 16/10/2008 14:50:24
They should never have let him in on the first place.I remember a vigorous debate concerning him last year. Unfortunately , as usual the "bleeding hearts" (as is always the case) got their way, and now we find he has assaulted a pensioner. What does Mr Stafford-Smith and all the "human rights" rabble (so vocal in getting him here, and no doubt tucked away in their leafy suburbs) have to say now ?

Deportation from US was part of the plea bargain (which did not exonerate him for the murder) ,therefore Scotland is stuck with him..
11

Beryltheperil ,

16/10/2008 15:08:45
Eric D. the murder charge was dropped totally. It was dropped because there was no scientific evidence of arson, if there is no arson then there is no murder.

Whether he had been deported or not, he would have come back to Scotland anyway. Which he was entitled to do since he is also a UK citizen.
12

Boy Wonder,

16/10/2008 15:14:54
He hadn't been back to Scotland till his release from prison. He should've realised he was never going to fit in ... not that he hasn't tried either.

You called it #2 ... Good Riddance!
13

Jim A,

16/10/2008 16:03:08
Unfortunately for the United States Mr Richey is a US citizen and will be allowed to return unless he is stripped of that citizenship which is unlikely because his father was/is an American.
14

Douglas,

Bathgate 16/10/2008 17:02:35
We must all hope that this latest unfortunate episode on top of all his other social and medical problems don't tip him over the edge.


Or something.





15

Finbarr Saunders,

16/10/2008 18:02:01
#7 - Curious Yellow - "Nae chance Kenny. Just shut yer pus and keep yer heid doon."

Best post so far.

He should have jumped off that roof when he had a chance. And some folk still cared!
16

Pandamack,

16/10/2008 20:31:51
Isn't it about time that Kenny shut his mooth and gave his erss a chance ?
17

P Phillips,

UK 16/10/2008 21:37:12
I still believe that he was wrongly locked up and don't doubt that he has suffered huge trauma. But the fact that he said he wanted to 'make up for lost time and party all the time' when he got home shows that he's learnt nothing at all. Did it not occur to him that it might be a good idea to keep his head below the parapet on his return to Scotland? Had he done this he might be in a better position now, instead he has engaged in exactly the same behaviour that got him jailed all those years ago so it's difficult to have any sympathy for him.
And if he thinks that Scotland is a goldfish bowl then he could find the States the same. The Yanks know who he is and I'm sure that they'd watch him like a hawk there too. As #17 rightly says, there doesn't seem to be an easy answer for this guy.
18

villiersterrace,

16/10/2008 21:57:07
If the USA made one mistake, it was that they believed that this scumbag told the truth whereas they should have electrocuted this lying scumbag for being a murderer. If he had any honour he'd throw himself off the Forth bridge and do us all a favour. By the way, where are all the do-gooder liberal morons nowadays who campaigned for his release? yeah, the silence is deafening as they've all shut up because they were all taken in, the dummies!!!
19

Dragonhead,

Dalian,China 17/10/2008 03:05:43
#20 villiersterrace,
"The do-gooder liberal morons..were taken in, the dummies!!!" You should have quantified it mate, with "AGAIN".Never around to fess up to their mistakes.Ho hum another day in paradise.
20

Linmal,

Livingston 17/10/2008 09:02:33
#20 & #21 Thanks for calling us dummies. I still think we were right as Kenny did not commit the crime for which he was imprisoned in Ohio. However, I am disappointed that he has "let the side down" since he came home to Scotland. There was help on offer which he should have accepted and things might be a lot better for him now. Hopefully, he will have learned from his mistake, but I don't know. Saughton will be a lot softer option than a prison in the States, but its still prison.

Kenny if you want your freedom and to live a decent life, clean up your act and ask for help, it will be given to you and think of your mother and the rest of your family before you do anything else stupid.
21

Beryltheperil ,

17/10/2008 09:05:06
the people who campaigned are still around. And they still believe he is innocent. They do agree that he has not done himself any favours since his release.

They also do know he has suffered a great deal trying to adjust to life and needs help.

Most knew it would not be easy and the true friends do not add to the media attention he gets
22

Pandamack,

17/10/2008 10:09:41
Although I have expressed my distaste at the moronic behaviour displayed by Richey since his release, I firmly believe that he did not start the fire or kill the child who tragically died.The real villain of the piece is Assistant Prosecutor Randall Basinger who orchestrated murder and arson charges from the intial fire marshall's finding of accidental cause. The indisputable fact is that these charges were deleted (a) because they could not be proved
(b)to avoid a not guilty verdict damaging reputations of those involved in the investigation,prosecution and sentencing.
(c)to prevent the potential burden of funding massive compensation for wrongfull incarceration.
Money talks.....
23

Linmal,

Livingston 17/10/2008 11:41:50
#23 I agree with much of what you say, but we all have to ultimately take responsibility for our own actions. It will have been difficult for him trying to adjust, but help is out there and I believe it has been offered, all he has to do is accept it.

As for the media attention, a lot of that is of his own making.

#24 This has been gone over and over, for more than twenty years - I agree he was innocent but that is in the past and if he is ever to have a chance of building a life for himself he must get help and try and look to the future.
24

Beryltheperil ,

17/10/2008 13:52:55
#25 Of course we have to take responsibility for our actions. I totally agree. The problem being that for 20 odd years he as a death row prisoner was not allowed to have responsiblities or choice. He has to learn that all over again.

I know that help is there and was offered, Maybe now he will take it. Time will tell. He will have a deep mistrust of any one in authority anyway, and that will include those who may want to help him.

Yes a lot of the media attention was brought upon by himself but not it all. There have been some nasty things written which had no truth in them at all.

This may have gone on for over twenty years and to the outside world it is over. I do not believe that someone who has gone through what he has, will ever be totally free of it. Its not over for him, and it won't be until he accepts the proper help, stops hanging around with the kind of people he was hanging around with and tries his best to adjust to a "normal" life.
Which will be difficult to do. Especially when the State of Ohio will not admit they did him wrong.

The anger he feels at how he was treated by the State of Ohio, has eaten into him for over 20 years. There will be no quick cure for this I am afraid. And he has to be willing to accept the help

That will take a long time and there is no real help for people who have been miscarriages of justice. If you are guilty you get all the help the government can give you but not if you are innocent you get no help at all.

Time will tell if things will turn around for Mr Richey. I pray that it does and he does end up having a productive life.
25

happy lady,

fife 17/10/2008 14:39:36
I,d pay his taxi to the airport...
but hey 1st lets see him get what he deserves for beating up a old man...as far as im concered he has no escuse for what he did its disgusting!
When he is released it is just the matter of time till he does something else-watch this space!
26

right from wrong,

Edinburgh 17/10/2008 17:19:48
Richey will keep feeding the press stories as long as the media are willing to keep paying him.
With Richey everyone goes on about a miscarriage of justice and what people feel free to forget is that he has been committing crimes since his teenage years and prior to the murder of little Cynthia Collins Richey had been behind bars in both the UK and the USA.
he went to the states as he was out of control and in trouble with the police and surprise surprise he wants to go back.
people need to think about Richey's victims how does the old gentleman that he allegedly beaten to severe injury feel when he opens the newspapers a reads about him every other day while he is still suffering from his injuries?
Richey states that his excuse for going off the rails is P.T.S.D. i'm sorry but we should leave that to the real victims of PTSD our hero's of the gulf, Afghanistan but most of all to the men and women that fought in the 2 great wars not a low life with a chip on his shoulder.
example in 1 interview that he gave James whale asked him what he did during his time in prison, did he take the time to improve his education his reply "nah i just watched telly"
i myself think the poor people of Edinburgh are stuck with this low life and when released it will just be a matter of time till he commits more crimes but unfortunately the next person might not walk away.
27

happy lady,

fife 17/10/2008 17:45:44
#28 i believe if they were to do a survey in edinburgh alone they most likely find that 99% of the folk out there think the same as youself...at least one thing if he goes back to america then the law there will not be a soft on him as they are in scotland..SO GOODBYE RICHEY
28

The real dracula,

17/10/2008 20:36:08
Some of you seem very sure that he is innocent then go on to say he was exonerated , due to lack of proof.

That does NOT mean he is necessarily innocent.

Personally I think he was guilty.

Im sure the USA will never allow him back.

Off you go somewhere else Kenny we wont miss you.

And quit your moaning
29

sam t.,

22/10/2008 17:48:33
1. Yes, we have to allow him entry into the US. He's a citizen.

2. Yes, we will give him medical care if he cannot afford it -- as we do everyone.

3. No, he does not have ptds, which has a specific diagnosis that he does not meet. He is a sociopath and has borderline personality order which was evident BEFORE he was sent to prison.

4. He should reconsider moving back to the US because he will not receive the idiotic handouts he did in the UK. Giving him a flat and money so he can booze up, buy drugs, and assault people helps no one.
30

sam t.,

22/10/2008 17:49:18
order = disorder
31

Crawford, B,

USA OHIO 21/01/2009 18:35:25
PLEASE do not let him out of jail and whatever you do, don't send him back here. We warned you...we really did...... And just because someone wasn't proven guilty here doesn't mean they are innocent!!

I seem to remember a conversation on here before Richey left the US, discussing the idea that a leopard can't change its spots. Kenney has proven this once again. The best solution for his sake and the benefit and welfare of Scotland's fine citizens would be to lock this man up and throw away the key. Give him medical care and maybe a productive job to do in prison. Keep him away from alcohol and drugs. And make him pay back the poor elderly gentlman that Richey robbed and beat up. How many more crimes must this derelict commit before he is made to pay and understand the ramifications of his actions?

 

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