The Mississippi Supreme Court has recently rejected the latest appeal from Richard Gerald Jordan, a man who has been on death row in the state since 1976. Now at the age of 78, Jordan was sentenced to death for the kidnapping and murder of Edwina Marter in Harrison County that same year. The denial of his appeal marks another setback in his lengthy legal battle.
The court’s decision has sparked questions about whether the state will proceed to set an execution date for Jordan. His attorney, Krissy Nobile, expressed concern about what she believes to be a misapplication of a 2017 U.S. Supreme Court ruling regarding mental health experts in death penalty cases. Despite the denial, Nobile has stated that they will explore all federal and state avenues for appealing the decision.
According to court records, in January 1976, Jordan travelled from Louisiana to Gulfport, Mississippi, where he kidnapped and later shot Edwina Marter in a forest. After the murder, he called her husband, falsely assured him of her safety, and demanded ransom money. Jordan has filed numerous appeals over the years, with his most recent one in December 2022 focusing on the appointment of a psychiatric examiner for his defense.
Jordan is known for being one of the inmates who challenged the state’s use of midazolam, a sedative, in its execution protocol. The case surrounding the execution drugs has yet to reach a final decision by U.S. District Judge Henry Wingate. However, despite these legal battles, the state proceeded with the execution of Thomas Edwin Loden in December 2022, marking the most recent execution in Mississippi.
The ruling by the Mississippi Supreme Court brings Jordan’s decades-long legal saga closer to a potential conclusion. As the legal proceedings continue, it remains to be seen how Jordan’s case will unfold in the coming months.