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Richard Gerald Jordan apologized to his victim’s family and pleaded for forgiveness from his wife in his final statement before being executed in Mississippi on Wednesday.

Jordan had kidnapped and killed a bank loan officer’s wife in a violent ransom scheme, for which he was sentenced to death in 1976. He was the longest-serving man on Mississippi’s death row.

“First I would like to thank everyone for a humane way of doing this. I want to apologize to the victim’s family,” Jordan said in his final statement.

He also thanked his lawyers and his wife and asked for forgiveness. “I will see you on the other side, all of you,” he said.

Richard Gerald Jordan was the longest-serving inmate on Mississippi’s death row. Richard Gerald Jordan was the longest-serving inmate on Mississippi’s death row. Mississippi Department of Corrections via AP, File

The Context

Jordan, a Vietnam War veteran with post-traumatic stress disorder, was sentenced to death in 1976 for killing and kidnapping Edwina Marter.

Court records say that Jordan called the Gulf National Bank in Gulfport and asked to speak with a loan officer in January 1976. After he was told that Charles Marter could speak to him, he hung up. He then looked up the Marter’s home address in a telephone book and kidnapped Edwina Marter.

According to court records, Jordan took her to a forest and fatally shot her before calling her husband, claiming she was safe and demanding $25,000.

What To Know

Jordan died by lethal injection at the Mississippi State Penitentiary in Parchman on Wednesday evening.

He lay on the gurney with his mouth slightly open and took several deep breaths before becoming still, according to witnesses. The time of death was given as 6:16 p.m.

The execution went ahead after three applications for an emergency stay were denied by the U.S. Supreme Court without comment.

Jordan had cited post-traumatic stress disorder related to his service in Vietnam in his appeals for clemency.

What People Are Saying

Keith Degruy, a spokesperson for Marter’s family, read a statement on behalf of her two sons and husband, who did not attend the execution. “Nothing will bring back our mom, sister and our friend. Nothing can ever change what Jordan took from us 49 years ago. Jordan tried desperately to change his ruling so he can simply die in prison. We never had an option,” the statement said.

Jordan’s lawyer Krissy Nobile said in a statement to The Clarion Ledger: “He was a remarkable man — a Vietnam Veteran, a man of deep faith, a pilot, a writer, an inventor, a loved family member, husband, and friend, and a force for good while in prison.

“Before the State executed Richard, he had received Tier Worker status in prison, a position of trust given to inmates who have shown good behavior and no record violation reports for a long period of time. Richard was a mentor to other inmates and known for lessening conflicts among his peers.”

She added that the jury “never heard about Richard’s service to his country and his resulting PTSD before sentencing him to death.”