Former death row Scot Kenny Richey has found redemption building shelters

Kenny Richey, in Edinburgh. Picture: TSPL

Kenny Richey, who was reprieved after 21 years on death row in the USA, claims he's found redemption - by building shelters for homeless veterans. Richey, born and raised in Edinburgh until he was 18, lived through 13 execution dates for the 1987 house fire death of 2-year-old Cynthia Collins. He was freed in a plea deal 10 years ago, and was homeless when the American charity Sanctuary Quarters threw him a lifeline.

Now the man who was asked to choose the method of his own execution says he has finally found peace and a reason to turn his life around, brick by brick. Richey, 53, said: "I believe I survived everything I've been through because helping people less fortunate than myself was what I'm meant to do.

"I've been to hell and back and done stupid things, but I was never a bad person.

"When you are treated like an animal, and forced to choose how you are going to die, humanity goes out the window. I was lost for a long time."

Richey spent months living hand-to-mouth and homeless in Columbus, Ohio, before being saved by former Marine Arnold Ramsey, 53, who told him bluntly he had a choice to make if he wanted to turn his life around. The Scot, who has suffered 5 heart attacks and a stroke in recent years, said: "I was in a mess, but I knew I had to tell Arnold the truth about everything. "He didn't judge me. He simply said he believed in me and told me I needed to believe in myself."

Former pastor Arnold and wife Sonya, 57, started Sanctuary Quarters with their own savings last year, buying property to ease the homeless crisis affecting thousands of US veterans. They offered Richey a job in exchange for shelter.

Richey said: "It's given me a purpose to my life. I'm up at the crack of dawn, labouring and putting up walls, hammering nails and plastering. It's exhausting but, at last, I'm truly happy because I'm doing something good."

It's a labour of love, sweat and tears for Richey who has suffered years of ill health, spanning a short, ill-fated return to Scotland.

Richey, who became a US Marine at the age of 19, following in the footsteps of his American father, said: "I've spent decades with death whispering in my ear. That does something to a man.

"Imagine being asked to choose your own death - being fried alive in the electric chair or having poison pumped into your veins. They wanted me to die, even though they knew I was innocent."

Richey refused to sign the paperwork and was told he would be sent to the electric chair. Arrested weeks after being discharged from the Marines, Richey always protested his innocence of setting fire to an ex-girlfriend's flat which claimed the life of toddler Cynthia Collins.

He said: "I was 1 hour from execution. They even shaved my head to make it easier to electrocute me.

"Unless you've walked in my shoes, you can't understand how that affected me."

In 2005, forensic evidence was re-examined. Richey was cleared but was tried again. A plea deal in 2008 freed Richey, who admitted charges of involuntary manslaughter and child endangerment, to return to Scotland to be reunited with mum Eileen, now 72.

Returning to the US, in 2010 the father-of-1 was jailed for 2 years for threatening Judge Randall Basinger who presided over his original trial. A messy divorce, health problems and run-ins with the law saw him on the streets. By the time Arnold Ramsey found Richey, he was a mess.

Arnold, 53, said: "I knew Kenny was a good man because he told the truth about what had happened in his life. He was prepared to accept I wouldn't want to know a convicted felon.

"The truth made me believe in Kenny Richey.

"He's a hard worker and despite what has happened to him, he cares about others. He needed someone to believe in him."

Sanctuary Quarters plan to create 20 homes in Columbus.

Arnold said: "We live in a society today where veterans who were prepared to lay down their lives for their country are invisible when they return home."

Richey is determined to continue working with the charity, although his mother preys on his mind.

He said: "I used to think Scotland was where I needed to be.

"But it's almost like God took me through all those bad things to bring me to this time and place. I can't explain it any other way. I know I'm meant to be where I am now.

"I worry about mum who has dementia. She's well looked after, but she doesn't even remember me.

"If I could ask her, I know she'd want me to stay where I've found peace and my place in the world."

Source: edinburghnews.scotsman.com, Diane King, January 7, 2018

⚑ | Report an error, an omission, a typo; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; submit a piece, a comment; recommend a resource; contact the webmaster, contact us: deathpenaltynews@gmail.com.

Opposed to Capital Punishment? Help us keep this blog up and running! DONATE!

"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted." -- Oscar Wilde

Comments

Death penalty options expanded in proposed Arizona bills

PHOENIX — Arizona lawmakers advanced proposals on Feb. 19, 2026, that would expand execution options for death row inmates to include firing squads and lethal gas, amid ongoing challenges with lethal injection and concerns over carrying out capital sentences. The measures, sponsored by Sen. Kevin Payne, R-Peoria, cleared a Senate committee with a party-line vote. They aim to give condemned inmates more choices while mandating firing squad executions for those convicted of murdering law enforcement officers. Senate Concurrent Resolution 1049 proposes a constitutional amendment that Arizona voters would decide in November. If approved, it would allow defendants sentenced to death to select from three methods: firing squad, lethal injection (intravenous administration of lethal substances) or lethal gas. Lethal injection would remain the default if no choice is made.

Japan | High court rejects retrial appeal over 1992 Fukuoka child murder

The Fukuoka High Court rejected an appeal on Monday for a retrial for the 1992 murder of two 7-year-old girls in the city of Iizuka in Fukuoka Prefecture, for which a death row convict was executed. The defense plans to file a special appeal with the Supreme Court against the decision. In what's known as the Iizuka incident, despite the assertion of his innocence, Michitoshi Kuma's death sentence became final in 2006 based on DNA test results and eyewitness accounts. He was executed at the age of 70 in 2008. The defendant's side submitted in the second round of its retrial request a woman's testimony as new evidence.

Sudanese Courts Sentence 2 Women to Death by Stoning for Adultery Despite International Obligations

Two Sudanese women have been sentenced to death by stoning in separate cases in Sudan, raising serious concerns about Sudan’s compliance with its international human rights obligations, particularly following its ratification of the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (UNCAT).

Florida | Governor DeSantis signs death warrant in 2008 murder case

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Governor Ron DeSantis has signed a death warrant for Michael L. King, setting an execution date of March 17, 2026, at 6 p.m. King was convicted and sentenced to death for the 2008 kidnapping, sexual battery and murder of Denise Amber Lee, a 21-year-old North Port mother. On January 17, 2008, Michael Lee King abducted 21-year-old Denise Amber Lee from her North Port home by forcing her into his green Chevrolet Camaro. He drove her around while she was bound, including to his cousin's house to borrow tools like a shovel. King took her to his home, where he sexually battered her, then placed her in the backseat of his car. Later that evening, he drove to a remote area, shot her in the face, and buried her nude body in a shallow grave. Her remains were discovered two days later. During the crime, multiple 9-1-1 calls were made, but communication breakdowns between emergency dispatch centers delayed the response. The case drew national attention and prompted w...

India | POCSO Court awards death penalty to UP couple for sexual exploitation of 33 children

A special court in Uttar Pradesh’s Banda on Friday sentenced a former Junior Engineer (JE) of the Irrigation Department and his wife to death for the sexual exploitation of 33 minor boys — some as young as three — over a decade, officials said. The POCSO court termed the crimes as “rarest of rare” and held Ram Bhawan and his wife Durgawati guilty of systematically abusing children between 2010 and 2020 and producing child sexual abuse material. Convicting the duo under provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, the court sentenced them to death for offences including aggravated penetrative sexual assault, using a child for pornographic purposes, storage of pornographic material involving children, and abetment and criminal conspiracy, they said.

Iran | Man Hanged for Murder After Plaintiff Changed Their Mind at Last Minute

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); 19 February 2026: Reza Karami, a man on death row for murder, was executed in Doroud Prison. The plaintiffs in the case had agreed to accept diya (blood money) in lieu of execution but changed their minds at the last minute. According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was hanged in Doroud Prison, Lorestan province, on 14 February 2026. His identity has been established as 30-year-old Reza Karami who was arrested around three years ago and sentenced to qisas (retribution-in-kind) for murder by the Criminal Court.

Oklahoma Ends Indefinite Death Row Solitary Confinement

“These men have not been able to touch grass and feel the warmth of the sun for the first time in ten years.” Every year, thousands of prisoners in the U.S. are placed in solitary confinement, where they endure isolation, abuse, and mental suffering . This practice might soon become rarer for some inmates in Oklahoma, thanks to the efforts of activists in the state. Earlier this month, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Oklahoma announced that the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester had ended the practice of indefinite solitary confinement for "the vast majority" of death row prisoners.

Louisiana Supreme Court Unanimously Sides with Two Death-Sentenced Prisoners Targeted with Premature Execution Warrants

When Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry and Attorney General Liz Murrill took office in January 2024, they moved aggressively to restart executions in the state. Gov. Landry signed bills that authorized nitrogen suffocation and electrocution as execution methods, increased his own power over the state capital defense system, and limited post-conviction appeals , while AG Murrill moved to take over capital appeal challenges from local district attorneys. In March 2025, the state conducted its first execution in 15 years.

Singapore executes 33-year-old Malaysian drug trafficker

Lingkesvaran was sentenced to death in 2018. A Malaysian man convicted of trafficking a significant quantity of heroin was executed in Singapore on Feb. 11, 2026, according to an official statement issued by the Singapore authorities. Lingkesvaran Rajendaren, 33, had been found guilty of trafficking not less than 52.77 grammes of diamorphine, also known as pure heroin. Singapore law mandates the death penalty for cases involving more than 15 grams of the drug. The authorities said the amount involved was enough to sustain the addiction of approximately 630 abusers for a week, highlighting the harm caused by large-scale drug trafficking.

Alabama provides the greatest arguments against the death penalty

I have seen three executions. I hope I never see a fourth. Capital punishment is violence. But the state does all it can to conceal that fact. The viewing areas outside the death chamber are still and silent. Bright light floods the small room where people die. The warden pronouncing the sentence speaks in clipped, measured tones, saying no more than needed. You’re expected to view the act as a bloodless execution of justice.

Death Penalty News

Search This Blog