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After Nearly 50 Years, Mississippi Supreme Court Declares Execution Date for Longest-Serving Death Row Inmate

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Published On: May 2, 2025
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Execution date for Mississippi's Longest Serving Death Row Inmate set
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A Mississippi man who has been on death row for several decades has been given an execution date. Richard Gerald Jordan was arrested for the crimes he committed against a woman in 1976. Jordan has become Mississippi’s longest-serving death row inmate.

Richard Gerald Jordan, who is now 78 years old, has been on death row since 1976. In January of the same year, he kidnapped a woman named Edwina Marter. Jordan then took his hostage to the DeSoto National Forest.

He then shot Edwina, causing her to die on the spot in the wilderness. The murderer then disposed of the weapon in the Biloxi River. Jordan then went on to call Edwina’s husband, Charles Marter, who was a banker at the time.

The murderer called up Edwina’s husband and demanded $25,000 in exchange for his wife’s safe return. Jordan instructed Charles to leave the money in a brown paper bag on the side of I-10.

When Jordan went to pick the bag up, he did not know that two law enforcement officers were present at the scene. The cops tried to arrest him on the spot but failed, which led to a high-speed chase. The murderer was arrested by an officer at a roadblock later.

Richard Gerald Jordan was granted 4 retrials even after confessing to killing his victim. Every one of the retrials ended up in Jordan receiving a death sentence. His last appeal was turned down in March of this year. According to a Fox 10 News report, Jordan’s lawyer made an argument while claiming that he has PTSD from the time combat service he served in combat in Vietnam.

Despite the lawyer’s defense, a doctor’s report showed “no clinical evidence” of any symptoms. The lawyer also claimed that his client was incorrectly diagnosed with an antisocial personality disorder.

After decades of being on death row, the Mississippi Supreme Court declared the death for Jordan’s execution. The court found that the murderer has “exhausted all state and federal remedies for purposes of setting an execution date under Mississippi Code Section 99-19-106.” He execution is now scheduled on June 25, at 6 p.m.

The order hasn’t revealed the manner in which Jordan is set to be executed. There are four ways criminals are executed under Mississippi law. Jordan will be executed by using a lethal injection, nitrogen gas, electrocution, or a firing squad.

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Vaishnavi Shetye

Vaishnavi has been a content writer for over four years and firmly believes there’s no such thing as too many pop culture references. She was a publishing student and is a full-time reader. You’ll find her at parties handing out great (self-proclaimed) books, movies, and series recommendations. She also takes pride in consuming media content as Pac-Man devours dots—swiftly and perpetually.

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