Mississippi Executes Longest-Serving Death Row Inmate for 1976 Murder

Richard Gerald Jordan, the longest-serving inmate on Mississippi's death row, was executed on Wednesday. His execution came nearly five decades after he was convicted of kidnapping and murdering Edwina Marter, the wife of a bank loan officer, in a violent ransom scheme. Jordan, a 79-year-old Vietnam veteran who suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, had his final appeals denied by the U.S. Supreme Court. He was sentenced to death in 1976 and died by lethal injection at the Mississippi State Penitentiary in Parchman.

The execution commenced at 6 p.m., according to prison officials. Jordan lay on the gurney, took several deep breaths, and then became still. The time of death was recorded as 6:16 p.m. Jordan was one of several inmates who had sued the state over its three-drug execution protocol, arguing it was inhumane.

Before his death, Jordan expressed gratitude for the "humane" manner of the execution and apologized to the victim's family. He also thanked his lawyers and his wife, asked for forgiveness, and concluded with the words, "I will see you on the other side, all of you." His wife, his lawyer, and a spiritual advisor witnessed the execution.

Jordan's execution was the third in Mississippi in the last decade, and the first in three years. It followed an execution in Florida the previous day, contributing to a trend of increased executions in the United States. The execution also occurred amid a broader increase in the use of capital punishment across the country.

In January 1976, Jordan contacted Gulf National Bank and, after speaking with Charles Marter, kidnapped his wife, Edwina Marter. Court records indicate that Jordan took her to a forest and fatally shot her before contacting her husband and demanding a ransom of $25,000.

Eric Marter, Edwina Marter's son, expressed his belief that Jordan should be punished. As of the beginning of the year, Jordan was one of 22 people sentenced in the 1970s who were still on death row.

Jordan's execution concluded a lengthy legal process that involved multiple trials and appeals. His lawyer argued that he was denied due process rights, specifically the opportunity to have a mental health professional independent of the prosecution assist his defense. A petition for clemency highlighted Jordan's severe PTSD from his military service as a potential factor in his crime. However, Edwina Marter's son rejected this argument, stating that Jordan's motive was financial gain.