Kenny Richey starts job hunt as mouth cancer fears eased

FORMER Death Row prisoner Kenny Richey has revealed he has started hunting for a job in Edinburgh.

The 43-year-old also said that his fears over a mouth cancer diagnosis had been partly allayed by doctors.

Richey has been told that he faces a wait of up to 16 weeks to have the malignant tumour removed from his mouth.

Today he said the lack of urgency had left him less concerned that his life is at risk from the disease.

Instead, he has focused on regular visits to the Job Centre, although he admitted he has been left frustrated by his lack of success.

It has also emerged that Richey has been banned from a string of nightclubs in the Capital because the owners believe he is bad for their reputations.

He claims bouncers at Lava Ignite, Mood and West End Subway have refused him entry due to his past and recent reports that he used cocaine.

Richey said the waiting list for his upcoming treatment at St John's Hospital in Livingston could be up to four months, but doctors expect him to be on the operating table within a "few weeks".

He added that the fight against cancer was "not the biggest challenge I have faced" and said that he expected to fight back to health.

The former US Marine said: "I was sent a letter this week saying I'll get the operation at St John's. Obviously I'd like to get it over with as soon as possible.

"But I'm not quite as worried now because if it was really serious then I think they'd do it faster.

"I've not spoken to the doctor who is going to do the operation but I'm told they are going to remove the lump.

"It's still on my mind but I've faced bigger problems and challenges in my life. This is just another one. I've felt better, but I'm getting on with things."

The chain smoker earlier revealed how he broke down in tears when doctors informed him of the cancer diagnosis.

The news came just days after he was pictured in a national newspaper allegedly snorting cocaine, an incident which he said left him "closer to suicide that ever before".

His mother, Eileen, threatened to throw him out of her flat in Orwell Terrace, Dalry, where he has stayed since his release from an Ohio jail in January.

Now Richey – who made more than £25,000 from selling his story, but is believed to have only £9000 left – wants a job to pay for his own flat.

He said: "At the moment, I'm looking for a job. Despite my heart condition, I was turned down for disability allowance but I want to work anyway.

"I'm visiting the Job Centre and I'll take anything they can give me. I really don't mind what I do. I just want to start earning money, get out of the house and get back to some kind of normal life."

And Richey said he was unconcerned about being banned from the nightclubs. He added: "I hate bouncers. I could take them out before they blink and they'd be too goddamn stupid to realise it.

"They stand there with all the attitude. Sometimes when I ask them why I am not getting in they just say because they said so.

"I prefer to drink locally anyway. People there treat me normally."

None of the clubs were available for comment last night.