Mississippi Attorney General Seeks Execution Date for Longest-Serving Death Row Inmate
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — On Tuesday, Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch requested that a date be set for the execution of Richard Gerald Jordan, the state’s longest-serving death row inmate.
Jordan, aged 78, was sentenced to death in 1976 for the kidnapping and murder of Edwina Marter in Harrison County earlier that year. The Mississippi Supreme Court dismissed Jordan’s most recent appeal on the same day, prompting Fitch to file the request for a lethal injection date.
Special Assistant Attorney General Allison Kay Hartman stated, “Jordan’s state and federal remedies have been exhausted,” in the filing on behalf of Fitch.
However, Krissy Nobile, Jordan’s attorney and director of the Mississippi Office of Capital Post-Conviction Counsel, expressed disagreement with the court’s decision. She told The Associated Press, “We are exploring all federal and state options for Mr. Jordan and will be moving for rehearing in the Mississippi Supreme Court.”
Details of the Crime
According to court records, in January 1976, Jordan traveled from Louisiana to Gulfport, Mississippi. He contacted Gulf National Bank, asked for a loan officer, and was connected to Charles Marter. After ending the call, Jordan found Marter’s address in a phone book, went to his home under the pretense of being an electric company worker, and kidnapped Edwina Marter.
Jordan subsequently took Edwina Marter to a forest, where he shot her to death. He later called her husband, falsely claimed she was safe, and demanded $25,000 in ransom.
Legal Proceedings and Appeals
Jordan has filed numerous appeals against his death sentence. His latest appeal, filed in December 2022, argued that he was denied due process as he was not provided with a psychiatric examiner solely for his defense. Instead, a court-appointed examiner gave findings to both the prosecution and defense.
The Mississippi Supreme Court noted that this issue had been raised in previous appeals and that a federal judge had ruled that having a single court-appointed expert did not violate Jordan’s constitutional rights.
Challenges to Execution Methods
Jordan is among the death row inmates who have challenged the state’s use of a three-drug combination for executions, which includes the sedative midazolam, vecuronium bromide to paralyze muscles, and potassium chloride to stop the heart. U.S. District Judge Henry Wingate has yet to make a final ruling on this matter.
In December 2022, Judge Wingate ruled that he would not block the execution of Thomas Edwin Loden, one of the inmates challenging the execution drugs. Loden was executed a week later, marking Mississippi’s most recent execution.
