§ Lord Aveburyasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they have granted the application by Mr Kenny Richey, who has been on death row in the State of Ohio since 1986, to be registered as a British citizen under Section 13 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002; and what consular assistance they now intend to offer Mr Richey. [HL3262]
§ Baroness Symons of Vernham DeanOn 20 May an official from our Consulate General in Chicago administered the Oath of Allegiance to Mr Richey and92WA gave him his Certificate of Nationality. Mr Richey retains his right to hold US citizenship and is, therefore, a dual US/UK national.
Under international law we have no right to demand consular access to dual nationals in the country of their other nationality. However, our requests for access are usually met as was our request to visit Mr Richey to administer the Oath.
We are in touch with Mr Richey's lawyers both in the USA and the UK, as well as with Ohio state officials. Our Acting Consul General in Chicago attended Mr Richey's recent Court of Appeals hearing. We will continue to monitor his case closely to determine what other respresentations could be made on his behalf, and we will do all we properly can to try to prevent his execution.