Mississippi’s Supreme Court has decided that Richard Gerald Jordan, who has been Mississippi’s longest-serving death row inmate, will face execution on June 25. Jordan, who is now 78 years old, was condemned to death in 1976 for the crime of kidnapping and murdering a woman. Throughout the years, he has filed several appeals against his death sentence, but his most recent appeal was denied in October.
This ruling from Mississippi was issued on the same day as the scheduled execution of Army Combat veteran Jeffrey Hutchinson in Florida. Prior to this decision, 14 executions had been carried out across the United States this year, including three in Florida.
The Supreme Court’s directive did not clarify the method of execution that will be utilized for Jordan. In Mississippi, law permits several methods of execution, including lethal injection, nitrogen gas, electrocution, or a firing squad.
Details from court records indicate that back in January 1976, Jordan kidnapped Edwina Marter and subsequently shot her in a wooded area in Harrison County. He deceived her husband, Charles Marter, by lying that she was unharmed and demanded a ransom of $25,000.
Before committing the murder, Jordan traveled from Louisiana to Gulfport, Mississippi. He contacted the Gulf National Bank, where Charles Marter was employed as a loan officer, inquiring if Charles was available for a conversation. After receiving confirmation, Jordan disconnected the call, located the Marter residence, and approached their home, pretending to be an employee of an electric company.
The court document stated, “After due consideration, the Court finds Jordan has exhausted all state and federal remedies for purposes of setting an execution.”
The last execution in Mississippi took place in December 2022.