Mississippi Death Row: Longest-Serving Inmate Executed
- Richard Gerald Jordan, 79, was put to death by lethal injection Wednesday at the Mississippi State Penitentiary in parchman.
- His final appeals were rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court without comment.
- In his final statement, Jordan thanked those involved for a "humane way of doing this" and apologized to the victim's family.
Richard Gerald Jordan, Mississippi’s longest-serving death row inmate, was executed after nearly 50 years. Convicted of kidnapping adn murdering Edwina Marter in 1976, Jordan’s execution is the third in Mississippi in a decade, sparking renewed debate about the role of capital punishment. The victim’s family expressed relief, while Jordan apologized in his final statement. Legal battles spanned decades,with final appeals denied. His defense raised mental health issues linked to PTSD, a factor countered by the victim’s family. News Directory 3 covers the execution and the ongoing discussions surrounding the issue of humane methods. Discover what’s next regarding the future of capital punishment.
Mississippi Executes Inmate After Nearly 50 Years on Death Row
Richard Gerald Jordan, 79, was put to death by lethal injection Wednesday at the Mississippi State Penitentiary in parchman. He was the longest-serving death row inmate in the state. Jordan was convicted in 1976 for the kidnapping and murder of Edwina Marter, the wife of a bank loan officer, in a ransom plot gone awry.
Prison officials said the execution began at 6 p.m. and Jordan was pronounced dead at 6:16 p.m. His final appeals were rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court without comment. Jordan was among inmates who sued the state, claiming its three-drug execution protocol was inhumane.
In his final statement, Jordan thanked those involved for a “humane way of doing this” and apologized to the victim’s family. He also thanked his wife and lawyers and asked for forgiveness, saying, “I will see you on the other side, all of you.”
Marsha Jordan, his wife, along with his lawyer Krissy Nobile and the Rev. Tim murphy,a spiritual adviser,witnessed the execution.
Keith Degruy, a spokesperson for the Marter family, read a statement on behalf of edwina Marter’s husband and two sons, who did not attend the execution. “Nothing will bring back our mom, sister and our friend,” the statement read. “Nothing can ever change what Jordan took from us 49 years ago.”
Jordan’s execution was the third in mississippi in the past decade, the most recent being in December 2022. It occurred a day after an execution in Florida, contributing to what could be the year with the most executions since 2015.The role of capital punishment remains a contentious issue, with ongoing debates about its effectiveness and morality. The execution itself is a focal point, raising questions about humane methods and due process. The state bears the obligation of carrying out these sentences, navigating legal challenges and ethical considerations.
According to Mississippi Supreme Court records, Jordan contacted Gulf National bank in Gulfport in January 1976, seeking to speak with a loan officer. After learning Charles Marter was available, he hung up and found the Marters’ address in a phone book. He then kidnapped Edwina Marter.
Court records indicate Jordan took her to a forest, fatally shot her, and then called her husband, claiming she was safe and demanding $25,000.
Eric Marter, who was 11 when his mother was killed, told The associated Press before the execution, “It should have happened a long time ago. I’m not really interested in giving him the benefit of the doubt. He needs to be punished.”
The death Penalty Information Center reported that Jordan was one of 22 individuals sentenced in the 1970s still on death row at the start of the year.
His execution concluded a legal process spanning decades,including four trials and numerous appeals. The Supreme Court rejected a final petition on Monday, which argued Jordan was denied due process rights.
Krissy Nobile, director of Mississippi’s Office of Capital Post-Conviction Counsel, who represented Jordan, said, “He was never given what for a long time the law has entitled him to, which is a mental health professional that is independent of the prosecution and can assist his defense. Because of that his jury never got to hear about his Vietnam experiences.”
A clemency petition to Gov. Tate Reeves,which was denied,echoed Nobile’s claim,stating Jordan suffered from severe PTSD after serving three tours in Vietnam,possibly influencing his crime.Franklin Rosenblatt, president of the National Institute of Military Justice, who wrote the petition, said, “His war service, his war trauma, was considered not relevant in his murder trial. We just know so much more than we did 10 years ago, and certainly during Vietnam, about the affect of war trauma on the brain and how that affects ongoing behaviors.”
Marter dismissed this argument, stating, “I know what he did. He wanted money,and he couldn’t take her with him. And he – so he did what he did.”
What’s next
The debate surrounding capital punishment in Mississippi is expected to continue, with discussions focusing on mental health considerations in sentencing and the fairness of the legal process for death row inmates.