On June 25, Richard Jordan, the longest-serving man on Mississippi’s death row was executed by lethal injection for kidnapping and killing Edwina Marter, a bank officer’s wife, back in 1976. The 79 years old Vietnam war veteran had PTSD and his final appeal for the reconsideration of the death sentence was rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Richard was given the chance to make a final statement before his execution on Wednesday and he said, “First, I would like to thank everyone for a humane way of doing this. I want to apologize to the victim’s family.” Expressing his gratitude to his wife and lawyers, he further added, “I will see you on the other side, all of you.”
His execution began at 6 pm, as per prison officials and he was pronounced dead at 6:16 p.m. As per the records of Mississippi Supreme Court, Richard had called the Gulf National Bank in Gulfport and asked for a loan officer to speak with. When he was given the name of Charles Marter, he hung up the call and traced Marter’s home and abducted Charles’ wife Edwina Marter.
After that, Richard took Edwina to a forest and shot her dead. He then called her home and claimed that she was safe and demanded $25,000 as ransom. He was eventually caught by the police and confessed his crime and was sentenced to death in 1977.
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While Edwina’s family, consisting of her husband Charles and sons Eric and Kevin had mentioned beforehand that they would not be attending Richard’s execution, two statements were released by them. Both of them were read by Keith De Gruy, the spokesperson of the family and Edwina’s nephew.
The first statement stated, “Nothing will bring back our mom, sister, aunt and friend. Nothing will ever change what Jordan took from us 49 years ago.” The statement further added, “Jordan tried desperately to change his ruling so he can simply die in prison. We never had an option. He took Edwina’s life, never thought about the many people who loved her and relied on her. He took her away from us never thinking about us.”
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Talking about Edwina’s sons, who were only 10 and 3 years old when their mother was murdered, the statement read, “They still have lives they would love to share with Edwina and have her here to be a part of. They will never have that option. Jordan took from them and he didn’t deserve an option either. Although they may forgive him, it doesn’t change what they missed for 49 years.”
The first statement also highlighted that Edwina’s family was completely averse to the reconsideration of the death sentence because they felt that the perpetrator should feel the same fear that innocent Edwina had felt all those years ago. The second statement mentioned, “This is a day of celebration for justice and a day of sadness for all involved. Jordan changed the lives of our family the day he took her to murder her for money.”
Richard Jordan execution in Mississippi is a go, appellate court says https://t.co/AYWo4HxWu3
— Clarion Ledger (@clarionledger) June 24, 2025
The statement further added, “His selfish actions affected so many. Our condolence to the Jordan family as his selfish mistake affect their lives as well.” However, the statement also made it clear that the day was about Edwina and how she finally got the justice she deserved. De Gruy also added, “She was loved and needed”, which further showed how deeply the tragedy had affected the family and how Edwina was missed even now.
