Mississippi is set to execute Richard Gerald Jordan, the state's longest-serving death row inmate tonight at the Mississippi State Penitentiary in Parchman. Jordan, a 79-year-old Vietnam veteran who claimed to be suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, was sentenced to death for the 1976 kidnapping and murder of Edwina Marter, a bank loan officer's wife, in a ransom scheme. He will be the third person executed in Mississippi in the last decade, with the most recent execution occurring in December 2022.
At the 2 pm briefing Parchman Superintendent Marc McClure stated that Jordan has been meeting with his family this afternoon and was described as being “in a good mood.” His requested last meal: chicken tenders, fries, a root beer float and strawberry ice cream.
Jordan's execution follows a series of legal challenges. He is among several inmates suing the state over its three-drug execution protocol, which they claim is inhumane. Despite these efforts, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals recently denied his appeal, allowing the execution to proceed. Judge Henry Wingate's ruling includes a provision that requires the Mississippi Department of Corrections to consult the court if the initial drug, Midazolam, does not render Jordan unconscious.
Jordan's legal team has argued that his Vietnam War experiences contributed to his actions, but this argument has not swayed the courts or Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves, who denied a clemency request. Eric Marter, the victim's son, remains unsympathetic, stating, "It should have happened a long time ago."
Jordan's execution would conclude a decades-long legal process that included four trials and numerous appeals. He still has several last-minute appeals pending before the U.S. Supreme Court. Jordan is one of 22 people nationwide still on death row for crimes committed in the 1970s.