Mississippi sets an execution date for a man who's been on death row since 1976

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi's longest-serving decease enactment inmate is acceptable to beryllium executed connected June 25, the authorities Supreme Court ruled Thursday.

Richard Gerald Jordan, 78, who was sentenced to decease successful 1976 for kidnapping and sidesplitting a woman, has filed aggregate decease condemnation appeals, the astir caller of which was denied successful October.

The Mississippi ruling comes connected the aforesaid time Army Combat seasoned Jeffrey Hutchinson was scheduled to beryllium executed successful Florida. Before Thursday, 14 radical had been executed successful the U.S., including 3 successful Florida.

The bid did not specify the mode successful which Jordan volition beryllium executed. Mississippi instrumentality allows decease sentences to beryllium carried retired utilizing lethal injection, nitrogen gas, electrocution oregon firing squad.

According to Mississippi Supreme Court records, Jordan kidnapped Edwina Marter successful January 1976 and changeable her to decease successful a wood successful Harrison County. He past called her husband, Charles Marter, falsely claimed she was harmless and asked for $25,000.

Records amusement that earlier the sidesplitting Jordan had traveled from Louisiana to Gulfport, Mississippi and called the Gulf National Bank, wherever Charles Marter worked arsenic a indebtedness officer. After helium was told Marter could talk with him, helium hung up, looked up the Marters' location code and went to the location posing arsenic an electrical institution employee.

“After owed consideration, the Court finds Jordan has exhausted each authorities and national remedies for purposes of mounting an execution,” the ruling read.

Mississippi's past execution was successful December 2022.