Death Row inmate executed after 48 years ‘he needed to be punished’ | US | News

Richard Gerald Jordan, one of America’s longest-serving death row inmates, was executed last night, nearly five decades after he kidnapped and murdered a bank loan officer’s wife in a brutal ransom plot.

The 79 year old Vietnam veteran, who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, received a lethal injection at the Mississippi State Penitentiary in Parchman.

Jordan, who had been on death row for 48 years and 115 days, became only the third person to be executed in the state in the past decade; the most recent execution took place in December 2022.

For his final meal, Jordan requested chicken tenders, chips, strawberry ice cream and a root beer float.

Despite three emergency stay applications being submitted to the Supreme Court of the United States, including one within the final hour of the scheduled execution, the convicted murderer’s sentence proceeded as planned, reports the Daily Star.

The justices did not provide any explanation for their decision to reject the applications and petitions for review.

This execution occurred just a day after another man was executed in Florida, marking a year that is set to see the highest number of executions in America since 2015.

In a tragic case stemming from the 1970s, Jordan was handed a death sentence for the kidnapping and murder of Edwina Marter, a mum of two. As of early this year, the Death Penalty Information Center revealed he was one of the last 22 individuals nationwide awaiting execution for crimes committed in that era.

The victim’s son, Eric Marter, aged 11 at the time of his mother’s brutal killing, confirmed that while he, along with his brother and father, won’t witness the execution, other relatives planned to be present.

He starkly remarked about the long-delayed execution, “It should have happened a long time ago,” and firmly stated, “I’m not really interested in giving him the benefit of the doubt.”

Mississippi Supreme Court documents unraveled chilling details of how in January 1976, Jordan phoned a bank specifically asking for a loan officer, hung up upon hearing Charles Marter could engage with him, found the Marters’ address using a phone directory, and subsequently abducted Edwina Marter.

Court reports detailed the horror as Jordan led her to woods where he ruthlessly shot her, then coldly rang her husband feigning her safety while extorting $25,000 (£18,364).

“He needed to be punished,” asserted Eric Marter, reflecting on the necessity of Jordan’s execution.

Jordan’s legal ordeal finally concluded decades after his initial conviction, punctuated by four separate trials and an array of appeals. Only this Monday, in a final twist, the US Supreme Court dismissed a plea alleging Jordan’s due process rights were violated.

“He was never given what, for a long time, the law has entitled him to, which is a mental health professional that is independent of the prosecution and can assist his defense,” stated Krissy Nobile, director of Mississippi’s Office of Capital Post-Conviction Counsel, currently representing Jordan. “Because of that, his jury never got to hear about his Vietnam experiences.”

An appeal for clemency recently submitted to Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves reiterates Nobile’s assertion. It suggests Jordan’s development of PTSD after triple tours in the Vietnam War could have played a part in his criminal actions.

“His war service, his war trauma, was considered not relevant in his murder trial,” commented Franklin Rosenblatt, president of the National Institute of Military Justice, who authored the petition in support of Jordan. “We just know so much more than we did 10 years ago, and certainly during Vietnam, about the effect of war trauma on the brain and how that affects ongoing behaviours.”

However, Eric Marter remains unconvinced by this defence.

“I know what he did. He wanted money, and he couldn’t take her with him. And he – so he did what he did,” Marter expressed firmly.