CONVICTED child killer Kenny Richey is asking the public to fund his bid to fly back to Scotland to use the NHS.
51 year-old Kenny Richey traveled from Scotland to the US in 1982 – before being convicted of murdering a two year old in an act of arson in 1986.
In 2008 he was released from death row after a plea bargain saw him accept charges of manslaughter, child endangering and breaking an entering.
During his time in prison and since his release he has suffered a number of heart attacks and strokes.
Now he has set up a donations page online – asking the public to donate cash for as part of his plan to fly back to Scotland for treatment, as he cannot afford healthcare in the US.
The page has been online for four months, but has only raised £300 of the £1,400 he needs to return to Scotland.
It is titled “Down and out homeless marine vet “ – referring to his service in the branch of the US military
Writing on the page, Richey says: “After five heart attacks and one stroke, I find myself almost $40,000 in debt, with no health or medical insurance and no income.
“I can’t pay for my heart medication. I am now homeless and desperate.
“I have had a hard time trying to adjust to the norms of society and do not know how to function properly. I need medical care and treatment but can’t afford it.
“I am trying to return home to Scotland, where I would be better able to get that care.
“I am a 51 year old man with nowhere to live, struggling to survive. I need help as quick as possible. I need to raise the funds to get my heart medication, to get temporary housing until I can hopefully raise enough to get airfare back home again.“
In an updated added in February, he wrote: “I thank you for those who have had the kindness of heart to donate to my fund. I truly appreciate it. You have shown that your heart is in the right place.
“Those of you on my Facebook whom have not donated or expressed any sentiment concerning the situation, get the hell of my Facebook, as I have no time or patience for fake friends.
“F* off!”
In an interview on BBC radio yesterday, Richey said: “I want to come back because it’s my home.
“It’s my home, it’s my country, I wouldn’t mind finding some place quiet, maybe out in the countryside somewhere, away from everybody, I’d be happy with that.”
But – he said: “Everybody in Scotland has made their bloody mind up about me, they always look at me like I’m a piece of trash or something, that I’m scum. They don’t see the human side of me.”
Richey is currently living in Tupelo, Mississippi.
He was originally convicted in January 1987 of murdering two-year-old Cynthia Collins by arson.
According to the prosecution Richey set an apartment alight in the hope that it would burn through the floor, and injure his ex-girlfriend and partner as they slept in the flat below.
He was sentenced to be executed – but was freed on appeal after 21 years on death row when evidence from the trial was called into question.
Since then, Richey has been involved in a number of other criminal cases.
In 2012 he was jailed for three years after leaving a threatening phone message for the judge who prosecuted his original case.
Richey’s brother is also serving time in a US prison for shooting two people whilst on LSD.
