Richard Jordan, Mississippi’s longest-serving death row inmate, is seeking to challenge his death sentence once again, this time on the grounds that the death penalty was unconstitutional at the time of his 1976 murder.
In a petition filed on November 14, his attorneys argue that the only constitutionally valid punishment for murder during Jordan’s crime was life imprisonment, not the death penalty.
This marks his fifth post-conviction petition in two decades, each raising issues related to his trials, sentencing, and the state’s lethal injection protocol.
Jordan’s case now awaits a decision by the Mississippi Supreme Court, which could either grant or deny his petition, as it has done in previous post-conviction appeals.
The Attorney General’s Office, however, insists that Jordan has exhausted all legal options and is urging the court to set an execution date.
Jordan’s legal team maintains that he still has unresolved state and federal options, despite previous motions to set an execution date in 2015 that were not acted upon by the court.
Jordan, born in Hattiesburg and adopted as a child, served in the Army during the Vietnam War, where he experienced significant trauma.
His post-war struggles with PTSD, including hypervigilance and emotional numbness, are central to his defense, with his attorneys arguing that these conditions played a role in the crime he committed.
After returning to civilian life, Jordan struggled to adjust, leading to marital tension with his wife. In 1976, he kidnapped Edwina Marter, the wife of a Gulf National Bank loan officer, demanding a $50,000 ransom. Jordan eventually killed Edwina after shooting her in the head, and he was sentenced to death.
Jordan’s conviction has been overturned multiple times due to legal issues, including flaws in the state’s death penalty system and his inability to present mitigating evidence.
In 1991, he was offered a plea deal for life in prison but later learned that it was invalid under Mississippi’s sentencing guidelines. After a new sentencing hearing, he was once again sentenced to death in 1998.
For the past two decades, Jordan has pursued multiple appeals, raising concerns about his defense, including his access to an independent PTSD expert and ineffective legal counsel.
He has also been involved in a federal lawsuit challenging Mississippi’s lethal injection protocol, particularly the use of pentobarbital, which became difficult to obtain.
In response, the state began using alternative drugs, including midazolam, which was contested in Jordan’s post-conviction petitions. Despite these challenges, the state has continued to push for his execution.
Jordan’s legal battle continues as he and other death row inmates seek to address both their individual cases and broader issues with the state’s execution methods.