Richey held for making threat to US court official

A SCOT released from prison after spending two decades on Ohio’s death row has been accused of leaving a threatening phone message at the courthouse where he was sentenced to death nearly 25 years ago.

Kenny Richey was arrested on Wednesday in Tupelo, Mississippi, where he now lives, after a jury in Ohio indicted him on charges of retaliation and violating a civil protection order.

Authorities in Putnam County said Richey left the message on New Year’s Eve. It was directed at one person who considered it a threat, investigators said.

Richey, 47, walked free in 2008 under a plea deal after a federal court overturned his conviction because it determined his lawyers mishandled the case.