Death row Briton's release on hold

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The 43-year-old, who has been on death row in the US for 21 years, was due to walk free after a hearing in Ohio. But the case was postponed after Richey complained of chest pains early on Thursday morning.

He was transferred from jail to a nearby hospital where he is expected to stay for a couple of days after having a heart catheter fitted. The hospital said he was in a stable condition.

Richey was sentenced to death in 1987 after he was convicted of an arson attack on an apartment block in Ohio in which a two-year-old girl died. He had planned to return to his native Scotland in time for Christmas.

The hearing at Putnam County Common Pleas Court has now been rescheduled for January 8 - although Richey's lawyer has said it could be held sooner if he is well enough.

Richey, who is being treated at St Rita's Medical Centre in the nearby city of Lima, had been expected to plead no contest to attempted involuntary manslaughter, child endangering and breaking and entering.

Beverly Miese, a deputy clerk at the court, said papers had been printed out in court to formally postpone the hearing. Richey's lawyer Ken Parsigian said his client's health was the "number one issue".

"Kenny was taken to hospital early this morning with a heart incident," he added. "The doctors have determined they need to put in a heart catheter. Obviously we would like to get Kenny released as soon as he is healthy enough."

His brother Steve Richey, who was at the court to attend the hearing, said Kenny had suffered at least one heart attack in jail and had been complaining about his heart hurting a couple of weeks ago. He added that his brother had seen a doctor about the pain and was told everything was fine. "I guess it was the stress. It had to have been," he said.

Karen Torley, of Cambuslang, near Glasgow, who is Richey's ex-fiancee and a long-time campaigner for his release, described the news as a "cruel blow", and said she believed postponing the trial was a "stalling tactic" by the authorities.