Freedom for Kenny Richey at last

With a face-saver for the predatory authoritis so he can't sue them for millions. See my post of July 12, 2005 for more background

A US-British citizen who spent 20 years on death row in the US before his murder conviction was overturned has agreed to a plea deal that will allow him to walk free, his lawyer said. Ken Richey will enter a plea on Thursday and return to his native Scotland on Friday, Ken Parsigian told the Lima News.

Richey, 43, was convicted of setting a fire that killed a two-year-old girl in 1986 and spent 20 years on death row until a federal appeals court in August overturned his conviction, arguing that his lawyers mishandled his case. The court ordered he be retried or set free. The state was set to try him again in March.

Instead, he will plead no contest to attempted involuntary manslaughter, child endangering and breaking and entering, and be sentenced to time already served, Parsigian said. A no contest plea is not an admission of guilt, but is treated as such by the courts.

His case has received wide coverage in Britain, and he has drawn support from members of the British Parliament and the late Pope John Paul II. He was nearly out of appeals until the 6th US Circuit Court of Appeals court ordered a new trial. The court said expert testimony could have contended that the fire was not intentionally set.

Report here




Jurors question dubious British verdict

After a parade of overconfident and wrong "experts", it is about time

The role of expert witnesses in baby death trials was called dramatically into question last night after two jurors spoke out to challenge the conviction of a childminder for killing a baby in her care. Senior judges and law officers faced calls yesterday for a fresh review of the role of expert witnesses in baby-death cases.

In an unprecedented move, the jurors disputed the recent conviction of Keran Henderson 42, a mother of two married to a former police officer, for shaking 11-month-old Maeve Sheppard so violently that the baby was left blind and irreparably brain-damaged. She died days later.

The jury foreman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has told The Times that he believes Mrs Henderson is innocent. “A case relying on circumstantial evidence and forensic opinion based on evidential proof from other cases should never have reached a court.”

The case comes amid increasing concern over cases involving baby deaths that turn on the evidence of medical experts. Sally Clark, Angela Cannings and Trupti Patel were all accused of killing their children, only later to be found innocent.

John Hemming, MP, the chairman of Justice for Families, called yesterday on the Lord Chief Justice and Attorney-General to set up a fresh inquiry into the way that courts use medical expert evidence. “Jurors think that Keran Henderson is innocent,” he said. “When we are asking medical expert witnesses to diagnose innocence or guilt, we need more certainty than is the case for most medical treatment — a false diagnosis of guilt can generally cause far more damage than a false medical diagnosis.”

Report here



(And don't forget your ration of Wicked Thoughts for today)