Initial reflections on Richey reversal

The Supreme Court's per curiam summary disposition in Richey today (discussed here) is likely not a big surprise for legal beagles following the case closely.  I believe the case had been relisted a number of times, and the Court's main ruling merely reversed a Sixth Circuit interpretation of Ohio law that seemed suspect.  (I was surprised, however, to see that Part II of the Richey opinion has a noticeable typo (in the initial cite of Holland v. Jackson), and that this part of the opinion is not written very clearly as it kicks the case back to the Sixth Circuit for a further round of litigation.)

But the Richey disposition is still big news because Ohio's efforts to execute Ken Richey has garnered significant national and international attention because of Richey's claims of innocence and also his Scottish roots and his status as a British citizen.  This AP story and this BBC story about the Richey ruling provide some background on why the case has previously garnered so much attention, and pro-Richey websites like this one and this one highlight why we are likely to continue to hear about this case as it is further litigated in the Sixth Circuit.