Tony Blair, England’s Prime Minister, has promised to look into the case of a Scotsman held on death row in Ohio for the last 17 years for a crime which campaigners claim he did not commit. Amnesty International describes his case as one of the most compelling cases of innocence they have ever seen.

The case of Kenny Richey, who was convicted of arson and aggravated murder after a child died in a fire in June 1986, was raised with Mr. Blair by Liberal Democrat Alistair Carmichael at question time. Mr Carmichael (Orkney and Shetland) said: “Next week I will be visiting Kenny Richey, a British citizen who has been held on death row in Ohio for the last 17 years now. Will you undertake to make direct and personal representations to the Governor of Ohio at the appropriate time to prevent the killing of this innocent man?”

Mr Blair replied: “I understand Mr Richey is awaiting the decision on an appeal for his re-trial and that decision is expected soon. We are continuing to monitor the case closely and see what the result of his appeal is before deciding what further representations we need to make.”

On the second anniversary of the execution of John Byrd by the State of Ohio, February 19, the Byrd family’s civil attorney advised the Ohio attorney general’s office that a previously threatened wrongful death suit would not be filed against the state. 

“The family’s interest is in getting the truth out, not in getting monetary compensation for their loss. Investigative journalism and media coverage are better ways for getting at the truth than more litigation would be,” said Columbus attorney Cliff Arnebeck. “Exclusively focusing on getting to the truth will best serve the purposes of both proving John’s innocence and correcting flaws in the criminal justice system. This is far more important to the family and to our society than fault-finding for the purpose of obtaining monetary compensation.”

“Byrd’s mother, Mary Ray, and sister, Kim Hamer, will be working with investigative journalists in this mission,” Arnebeck said.

Asking for an INDEPENDENT Investigation into the Intelligence on Iraq.  Almost a year has passed since the U.S. invasion of Iraq, and we now know that the major justification for war (Iraq's possession of weapons of mass destruction) no longer has any legs to stand on. Unfortunately, the Bush administration refuses to face the facts. It has switched from talking about Iraq's "possession" of weapons to its "capacity" to produce them as if they were the same thing. And its creation of an "independent" commission to report AFTER the elections is just another PR stunt to distract the American public. Let's create some real accountability. 20/20 Vision has launched an on-line petition calling on Congress to create a truly independent investigation into the White House's role in the intelligence failure that would report BEFORE the elections. Please go to www.2020vision.org/peace/wmdpetition.html to add your name to the growing number of supporters. The American public is on our side.

 Columbus Mennonite Church is planning a second blanket drive to help replace the Mennonite Central Committee blanket stock after 68,000 were sent by MCC in response to the December 26th earthquake in Bam, Iran.  MCC has also suggested a donation of $20 per donor to help with shipping and ongoing relief and rehabilitation efforts. The deadline for this drive is  Sunday, March 28th.  Those wishing to donate should provide new winter-weight, twin blankets (dark colors are preferred). Please make your donation/check out to "MCC" and write "blankets for Iran" in the memo line. For more information, contact Karen Metzler at (740) 774-4622 or kmetzler@mcc.org. or Fred Suter at (614) 895-7345 or fdsuter@aol.com.