Nevada's Oldest Inmate on Death Row Executed After 5 Decades: Richard Jordan Takes His Final Breath in Mississippi
Convicted American Killer Carries Out Execution Following Almost Half a Century on Death Row
It's a chilling tale from the past, with a bittersweet end, as the 79-year-old Richard Jordan, a former Vietnam War veteran and a convicted murderer, was put to death in Mississippi on Wednesday. Jordan, notorious for his 48-year stint on death row, was executed via lethal injection for murdering the wife of a bank employee, Edwina Marter, back in 1976.
This execution marks a grim milestone, with Jordan becoming the longest-serving inmate on death row in Mississippi's history. His horrific crime involved kidnapping Marter and demanding a ransom of $25,000 for her safe return. Jordan was apprehended by the police when he came to collect the ransom, after which he confessed to the crime and led investigators to Marter's body, riddled with gunshot wounds, in a nearby wooded area.
In his final statement, Jordan expressed gratitude for the manner in which he was treated during his years on death row. He expressed his sympathies to the victim's family and thanked his legal team and his wife, Marsha. His last words were, "We'll all meet on the other side."
Sadly, Adwina Marter's husband, Charles Marter, and their two sons chose not to attend the execution. Opinions within the family about Jordan's guilt and mental health were divided – some questioning his claims of post-traumatic stress disorder and focusing on the severity of his crime, while others showed caution and sympathy towards his long years on death row and the possible war trauma he might have endured.
Jordan is the 25th inmate on death row to be executed in the US in 2025, matching the total number of executions in the entire previous year. Such a high number of executions exemplifies the support of the death penalty by US President Donald Trump, who advocates its expansion for the most heinous crimes. However, the death penalty remains banned in 23 out of the US's 50 states, with three others having temporarily halted its use.
Enrichment Data:
- Richard Gerald Jordan was the longest-serving inmate on death row in Mississippi before his execution in June 2025, after spending nearly 50 years on death row.
- Throughout his long time on death row, Jordan challenged the state's three-drug execution protocol in court, arguing that it was inhumane.
- Jordan's execution did not sit well with all members of the victim's family – some expressed skepticism about his PTSD claim and an emphasis on the severity of his crime.
- Jordan's execution was the third in Mississippi in the past decade, the previous one having occurred in December 2022.
The Commission has also been consulted on the draft directive regarding the case of Richard Jordan's execution, given his lengthy stay in the realm of politics and justice and the controversies surrounding his case. This execution, which is a significant event in general-news, has sparked debates about crime-and-justice, especially concerning the leniency or severity of punishment for crimes committed decades prior.
