Mississippi executes Richard Jordan

Mississippi executes inmate who’s been on death row almost half a century

Richard Gerald Jordan, 79, received a lethal injection at the Mississippi State Penitentiary after being on death row since 1976 

Mississippi has executed Richard Gerald Jordan, the state’s longest-serving death row inmate. 

Jordan, 79, was put to death by lethal injection at the Mississippi State Penitentiary in Parchman Wednesday evening, nearly 50 years on from when he kidnapped and killed a bank loan officer’s wife in a violent ransom scheme.

At a press conference earlier Wednesday officials revealed that Jordan was served his final meal at 4 pm. 

He was said to be in “a good mood” hours before his execution and shared memories from his past. 

The execution began at 6 p.m., according to prison officials. Jordan lay on the gurney with his mouth slightly ajar and took several deep breaths before becoming still. The time of death was given as 6:16 p.m.

Jordan was one of several on the state's death row who sued the state over its three-drug execution protocol, claiming it is inhumane.

When given an opportunity to make a final statement Wednesday, he said, "First I would like to thank everyone for a humane way of doing this. I want to apologize to the victim's family."

He also thanked his lawyers and his wife and asked for forgiveness. His last words were: "I will see you on the other side, all of you."

Jordan's wife, Marsha Jordan, witnessed the execution, along with his lawyer Krissy Nobile and a spiritual adviser, the Rev. Tim Murphy. His wife and lawyer dabbed their eyes several times.

During a news conference after the execution, Keith Degruy, a spokesperson for Marter's family, read a statement on behalf of her two sons and husband, who were not present at the execution.

"Nothing will bring back our mom, sister and our friend. Nothing can ever change what Jordan took from us 49 years ago. Jordan tried desperately to change his ruling so he can simply die in prison. We never had an option," he said.

Vietnam veteran

Jordan had been on death row since 1976 after his case involved four trials and numerous appeals. 

The Vietnam veteran, who suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, was one of several on the state’s death row involved in a lawsuit over Mississippi’s 3-drug execution protocol, which the suit argues is inhumane. 

An appeal to the Supreme Court for Jordan’s reprieve was out as late as Wednesday afternoon but it was denied. 

Governor Tate Reeves was also petitioned to provide Jordan clemency following arguments the veteran developed PTSD after serving three back-to-back tours in the Vietnam War, which could have been a factor in his crime. The governor denied the request. 

Jordan, a Vietnam veteran who suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, was one of several on the state’s death row involved in a lawsuit over Mississippi’s 3-drug execution protocol, which the suit argues is inhumane.

RELATED | Mississippi inmate Richard Jordan denied relief in execution drug appeal day before execution set

In 1976, Jordan was sentenced to death for killing and kidnapping Edwina Marter, a mother of 2 young children. 

Eric Marter, who was 11 when his mother was killed, said neither he, his brother, nor his father would attend the execution, but said other family members were expected to be there. 

“It should have happened a long time ago,” he said of the execution. “I’m not really interested in giving him the benefit of the doubt.” 

Mississippi Supreme Court records show that in January 1976, Jordan called the Gulf National Bank in Gulfport, Mississippi, and asked to speak with a loan officer. 

After he was told Charles Marter could speak to him, he hung up. He then looked up the Marters’ home address in a telephone book and kidnapped Edwina Marter. According to court records, Jordan took her to a forest, shot and killed her, before calling her husband, claiming she was safe and demanding $25,000. 

“He needs to be punished,” Eric Marter added. 

Franklin Rosenblatt, the president of the National Institute of Military Justice, who wrote the clemency petition on Jordan’s behalf, said that the veteran’s war trauma “was not considered relevant” in his murder trial. 

“We just know so much more than we did 10 years ago, and certainly during Vietnam, about the effect of war trauma on the brain and how that affects ongoing behaviors,” Rosenblatt said. 

Before his execution, Jordan was 1 of 22 people across the country sentenced for crimes in the 1970s still on death row, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. 

Jordan becomes the 1st condemned inmate to be put to death this year in Mississippi, and the 24th overall since the state resumed capital punishment on September 2, 1983. 

Jordan becomes the 25th condemned inmate to be put to death this year in the USA, and the 1,632nd overall since the nation resumed executions on January 17, 1977. 

The last execution in the United States before the 1972 Furman v. Georgia decision was that of Luis Monge, who was executed on June 2, 1967, according to Time Magazine. The Supreme Court's decision in Furman v. Georgia effectively placed a moratorium on capital punishment, as it found the way the death penalty was being applied to be unconstitutional.

On July 2, 1976, the US Supreme Court ruled in its Gregg v Georgia decision that the death penalty for murder was not in and of itself a cruel and unusual punishment. Gary Gilmore was shot to death in the Utah State Penitentiary in January, 1977, thus marking the beginning of USA executions in the modern era.

Source: The Independent, The Associated Press, Staff, Rick Halperin, June 25, 2025

"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted."

— Oscar Wilde