Cliff Notes
- Richard Gerald Jordan, aged 79, was executed by lethal injection in Mississippi after spending nearly 50 years on death row for the kidnapping and murder of Edwina Marter in 1976.
- Jordan’s execution marks the third in Mississippi in the last decade, with his last words expressing gratitude and apologies to the victim’s family.
- Despite ongoing debates about the inhumane nature of execution protocols and Jordan’s claims of PTSD from his Vietnam service, his appeals for clemency were denied.
Richard Gerald Jordan: Man who was on death row in Mississippi for almost 50 years executed | US News
A man who was on death row in Mississippi for almost 50 years has been executed.
Richard Gerald Jordan kidnapped and killed Edwina Marter, a stay-at-home mother who was married to a banker, in a violent ransom scheme.
The 79-year-old, a Vietnam War veteran who suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, died by lethal injection at 6.16pm local time (12.16am UK time) on Wednesday.
Jordan was the longest-serving man on death row in Mississippi – and had sued the state over its three-drug execution protocol, arguing it was inhumane.
When given an opportunity to make a final statement, he said: “First I would like to thank everyone for a humane way of doing this. I want to apologise to the victim’s family.”
Jordan’s wife Marsha and his lawyer Krissy Nobile attended the execution, and dabbed their eyes several times as it took place.
He thanked them both and asked for forgiveness, and his final words were: “I will see you on the other side, all of you.”
Mrs Marter’s husband Charles and her two sons were not present.