Richard Jordan executed by lethal injection

Mississippi Department of Corrections photo

June 24, 2025 – The Mississippi Department of Corrections has reported that convicted killer Richard Jordan was executed by lethal injection at the Mississippi State Penitentiary in Parchman Wednesday evening.

The execution procedures began at 6 p.m., and Jordan, 79, was pronounced dead at 6:16 p.m. The Mississippi Department of Corrections carried out the order of the Mississippi Supreme Court issued on May 1. The execution occurred after several appeals from Jordan’s attorneys, including to the Fifth Circuit Court and the U.S. Supreme Court, were denied.

Jordan was sentenced to death four times in Jackson County Circuit Court for the kidnapping and murder of Edwina Marter, 35, in Gulfport. Jordan was first sentenced in 1976, followed by 1977, 1983, and 1998.

Marter, a married mother of two, was home with her three-year-old son when Jordan, posing as an electrical repairman, kidnapped her at gunpoint on January 13, 1976.

Jordan was the state’s longest-serving and oldest death row inmate when executed.

“For decades, the Attorney General’s Office has pressed for justice for the Marter family, filing dozens of briefs in state and federal courts, including three at the US Supreme Court just this week,” said Attorney General Lyy Fitch. “We are pleased to be able to bring closure to Mrs. Marter’s family and friends and the community that was rocked by this brutal and heinous crime.”

Gov. Tate Reeves refused to step into the case and provide clemency, noting, “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. Justice must be done – and in Mississippi – justice will be done.”