Richard Jordan (Photo from MDOC)
- Jordan is set to be executed by way of lethal injection Wednesday for the 1976 murder of Edwina Marter, a mother of two from Gulfport.
Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves will not stop today’s planned execution of the state’s longest serving and oldest death row inmate, Richard Jordan.
In a social media post shared on Tuesday, Governor Reeves said after reviewing Jordan’s clemency petition and meeting with counsel to discuss the request, “all necessary procedures are being followed with the anticipation that the execution will proceed as scheduled.”
“This is a somber responsibility, and one that nobody enjoys. But it is a responsibility I take seriously as part of the oath I took to faithfully discharge the duties of Governor,” Reeves said. “Justice must be done – and in Mississippi – justice will be done.”
Jordan, now 79, is scheduled to be executed Wednesday by way of lethal injection at the Mississippi State Penitentiary in Parchman for the 1976 murder of Edwina Marter, a mother of two from Gulfport.
Marter was kidnapped at gun point from her home where her three-year-old son was sleeping. Jordan, a Vietnam veteran, forced her to drive into the Desoto National Forest, where he shot her in the back of the head. Jordan then demanded and was paid a $25,000 ransom prior to being apprehended by law enforcement.
Jordan was captured and convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death over four trials.
Over the last 48 years, Jordan and his attorneys have engaged in multiple appeals and stay motions have been considered and rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court, the Mississippi Supreme Court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and the U.S. District Court. The U.S. Supreme Court rejected a petition on Monday of this week.
According to the Mississippi Department of Corrections on Wednesday morning, Jordan’s execution is scheduled for 6 p.m. It will be the third execution in Mississippi in the last 10 years.
Frank Corder
