Just minutes before he was executed, Richard Gerald Jordan — Mississippi’s longest-serving death row inmate — turned to the family of the woman he brutally murdered nearly half a century ago and spoke his final, haunting words.
On the evening of June 25, the 79-year-old Vietnam veteran-turned-convicted killer was put to death by lethal injection inside the Mississippi State Penitentiary in Parchman. The time of death was recorded at exactly 6:16 p.m., marking the end of a grueling 48-year legal odyssey that began with a murder that shocked an entire community.
A Calculated Act of Evil
It was in January 1976 when Jordan, under the guise of seeking a loan, called the Gulf National Bank in Gulfport. When the name of loan officer Charles Marter came up, Jordan hung up and turned to the phone book, tracking down Marter’s home address.
There, masquerading as an electrician, Jordan kidnapped 37-year-old Edwina Marter — a wife and devoted mother of two young boys, just 3 and 11 years old. Armed with a gun, he forced her into a car and drove deep into the remote stretches of DeSoto National Forest. When Edwina attempted to escape, he shot her in the back of the head.
Hours after the cold-blooded killing, Jordan called her husband demanding a $25,000 ransom — cruelly pretending Edwina was still alive.
He was arrested the next day in a hotel in Mobile, Alabama.
Decades of Delays
Jordan was sentenced to death in 1977. But what was meant to be swift justice turned into a decades-long legal saga. He filed repeated appeals, including a lawsuit challenging Mississippi’s lethal injection protocol, which only served to postpone — not prevent — his execution.
Over the years, Jordan received four separate death sentences: in 1976, 1977, 1983, and again in 1998. Each time, he fought the system. But time finally ran out.
Earlier this year, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear Richard Gerald Jordan’s final appeal — a quiet but decisive signal that his time had finally run out.
“He Needs to Be Punished”
For the family of Edwina Marter, the woman Jordan brutally murdered nearly 50 years ago, the decision marked the end of a long and painful chapter.
“I’m not really interested in giving him the benefit of the doubt,” said Eric Marter, who was just 11 years old when his mother was kidnapped and killed. “I know what he did. He wanted money, and he couldn’t take her with him — so he did what he did. He needs to be punished.”
Now 59, Eric said he would not attend the execution. Neither would his younger brother Kevin, 52, or their 89-year-old father.
“I don’t really have any real desire to go and basically waste my time,” he told the Clarion Ledger. “I thought this should’ve been taken care of 35 or 40 years ago. It’s been too long.”
“I Will See You on the Other Side”
At approximately 6 p.m. on June 25, inside the Mississippi State Penitentiary in Parchman, Jordan faced his final moments. A small audience watched — including members of Edwina’s family and Jordan’s own wife.
When asked for his last words, the 79-year-old Vietnam War veteran turned convicted killer remained composed.
“First, I would like to thank everyone for a humane way of doing this,” he said. Turning his attention to the victim’s family, he offered an apology. Then, addressing his loved ones, he added: “I love you all very much. I will see you on the other side, all of you.”
At 6:16 p.m., he was pronounced dead.
Lying still on the gurney, mouth slightly open and breathing slow, Jordan finally exited a decades-long legal battle that had haunted both families since 1976.
And in that moment, after nearly half a century of grief and waiting, Edwina Marter’s family quietly exhaled — a long-overdue sigh of relief.
“Nothing Will Bring Back Our Mom”: Family Speaks Out After Execution of Mississippi’s Longest-Serving Death Row Inmate
In the quiet moments after Richard Gerald Jordan took his final breath, the family of Edwina Marter stepped forward — not in celebration, but in solemn remembrance of the woman they lost nearly 50 years ago.
At a post-execution press conference, Keith Degruy delivered a powerful statement on behalf of Edwina’s husband and sons — a message filled with pain, truth, and the weight of nearly five decades without justice.
“She had to suffer while he dragged her around, knowing she probably wouldn’t live through it,” Degruy read aloud. “Why should he get to live in prison and die of natural causes? We feel that he should have to endure the suffering of knowing his death was only hours away — just like Edwina had to endure.”
The family made it clear: Jordan’s death could never restore what he had taken.
“Nothing will bring back our mom, our sister, our friend,” the statement continued. “Nothing can ever change what Jordan took from us 49 years ago. Jordan tried desperately to change his ruling so he could simply die in prison. We never had that option.”
Eric Marter, Edwina’s son, echoed the sentiment bluntly to the Associated Press:
“It should have happened a long time ago.”
A Final Chapter, a Lingering Pain
On June 25, 2025, the nearly half-century-long saga finally ended. Richard Gerald Jordan, Mississippi’s longest-serving death row inmate, was executed by lethal injection at age 79.
His final words — a soft-spoken apology, a message of love to his wife and attorney, and a cryptic farewell:
“I will see you on the other side, all of you.”
To some, they were haunting. To others, perhaps hollow.
But for the Marter family, the moment marked something deeper — not closure, but the closing of a chapter. Justice, long overdue, had finally arrived.
What do you think about Jordan’s final words?
Share your thoughts, and pass this story along — let’s hear from others who believe in justice, healing, and the power of never forgetting.