Execution completed by lethal injection for Mississippi murderer Richard Jordan at Parchman

Yahoo

5 hours ago

PARCHMAN, Miss. — Richard Jordan, who spent nearly half a century on Mississippi's death row, was lying strapped to a gurney with his arms splayed out and covered in a white sheet up to his neck when the curtain to Unit 17 rose at 6 p.m. Wednesday, June 25, at the Mississippi State Penitentiary in Parchman.
Jordan was surrounded by four Mississippi Department of Correction officials, including Commissioner Burl Cain and Marc McClure, the regional superintendent. McClure asked Jordan if he had any last words, to which Jordan responded "yes."
"First I would like to thank everyone here for a humane way of doing this," Jordan said as he looked at the ceiling. "I wish to apologize to the family. I ask that you forgive me for what I did, not forget, but forgive."
Jordan then thanked his lawyer and his wife, Marsha, who was sitting and sobbing in the front-row behind the glass viewing area. Marsha was sitting with Krissy Nobile, director of the Mississippi Office of Capital Post-Conviction Counsel, and Tim Murphy, Jordan's spiritual adviser.
"I love you," Jordan said. "See you on the other side, all of you. Thank you."
For the next eight minutes, the observation room was silent. Jordan's breathing initially slowed, then quickened briefly before slowing again. His eyes gradually closed, and his mouth fell slightly open. By 6:11 p.m., no chest movement was visible.
Earlier, at 6:08 p.m., a man with sunglasses on and a blue hat had come into the room and rubbed Jordan's chest to do a consciousness check. U.S. District Judge Henry Wingate ruled last week that if Jordan remains conscious four minutes after receiving the first drug — a sedative — the state must stop the execution.
"In my professional opinion, this person is unconscious," the man in sunglasses said.
Cain told reporters at a press conference after the execution that "by law" MDOC officials were not allowed to identify the man who did the consciousness check.
At 6:16 p.m., Jordan was pronounced dead. The curtain to Unit 17 then slowly closed.
"It went as well and smooth as can go and again our hearts go out to the victim's family and to Richard's family," McClure said.
McClure said Jordan's body has been claimed by Jordan's family.
Jordan, who grew up in Petal, was sentenced to death in 1977 for the 1976 kidnapping and murder of Edwina Marter, a Gulfport bank executive's wife. He's lived on death row for 48 years, making him the state's longest-serving death row prisoner.
At a 2 p.m. press conference, McClure described Jordan as 'talkative," saying he appeared "to be in a good mood' ahead of the execution. McClure also announced Jordan's last meal, which he ate at 4 p.m. Jordan requested chicken tenders, fries, strawberry ice cream and a root beer float for his last meal.
In a previous interview with the Hattiesburg American, Marter's son, Eric, said he and his brother, Kevin, as well as his father, Charles, would not be attending Jordan's execution.
"I don't really have any real desire to go basically and waste my time," Eric said in a phone interview. "I would [have thought] that this had been taken care of 35-40 years ago. It's been probably too long."
Keith De Gruy, Edwina Marter's nephew who MDOC officials identified as a "family spokesperson," said a few words on behalf of Marter's family after the execution during a 7 p.m. press conference.
"We are grateful this day has finally come even though it doesn't fill the void of Edwina being taken from our lives," De Gruy said. "She will forever be missed by her family and friends."
On Monday, June 23, the U.S. Supreme Court denied Jordan's petition to review his case.
The Supreme Court also failed to give Jordan a last-minute stay on Wednesday. Those decisions follow a flurry of appeals from Jordan's lawyers to try to halt the execution in recent weeks. Each have been denied.
Additionally, Republican Gov. Tate Reeves denied Jordan's plea for clemency on Tuesday, June 24.
"Richard lived by the quote that 'you cannot have both love and hate in your heart at the same time,'" Nobile said in an emailed statement after the execution. "Richard always strove to show love to those around him, and he found comfort in his last days in 1 Corinthians 13, which reminds us that a life without love, is no life at all."
"Richard spent every day trying to make up for his crime. Until his last day, he sought only to help others. Richard, his family, and his counsel express their deep and sincere sympathy for the family of Edwina Marter."
Outside the prison, anti-death penalty protesters gathered around 4:30 p.m. to denounce Jordan's execution and call for an end to capital punishment. A total of 11 protesters stood outside the prison.
Sheila O'Flaherty, 79, was among them and said she's attended 'every execution that we've had.' She previously lived near Parchman, which made it easier to be present. Now living in Jackson, she still makes the trip to protest.
"I just think it's wrong for the state to execute anybody," she said. "I have enough confidence that the state can keep the people safe, so why do you need to execute someone? He's a human being."
Rev. Jeff Hood, a self-described death row spiritual advisor, was also standing outside the prison with the protesters. He previously told the Clarion Ledger that he would be outside Parchman "in protest but also in prayer."
At 5 p.m., a lone protester stood in from of the Mississippi governor's mansion, holding a sign that read: "Murder 1, plus Murder 2 does not equal Justice or Peace." The solitary protester paced between the cameras and reporters of two TV stations.
Jordan's execution is the 25th in the U.S. this year. A day prior, on Tuesday, June 24, Florida executed Thomas Lee Gudinas, 51, by lethal injection at the Florida State Prison, making him the 24th. It was Florida's seventh of 2025 — the most of any state so far this year.
According to the Death Penalty Information Center, no more than 24 people were executed in any year over the past five years — making 2025 already one of the deadliest years for executions in recent history.
Capital punishment in MS: A history of executions in Mississippi. How many? What methods? What we know
With Jordan's execution, Mississippi joined nine other states that have carried out executions in 2025. Those states include Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Indiana, Louisiana, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas.
This was Mississippi's first execution in three years. Thomas Loden, a convicted murderer and rapist, was executed in December 2022. Loden's execution also began at 6 p.m. He spoke his last words at 6:01 and was pronounced dead at 6:12 p.m.
No other executions in Mississippi are scheduled this year, according to the MDOC website.
Mississippi currently permits four methods of execution: lethal injection, nitrogen hypoxia, electrocution and firing squad. While lethal injection remains the state's preferred method, a 2022 law removed the previously established order of alternatives, giving the Mississippi Department of Corrections discretion to choose among the legal options. Despite the legality of firing squads, the state has never used that method.
Contact Charlie Drape at [e-mail].
Staff Writer Lici Beveridge contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Mississippi execution of Richard Jordan after nearly 50 years on death row