Mississippi

Mississippi is set to execute the state’s longest-serving death row inmate

Published

9 months ago

June 25, 2025

Mississippi is set to execute the state’s longest-serving death row inmate

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi’s longest-serving death row inmate is set to be executed Wednesday nearly five decades after he kidnapped and killed a bank loan officer’s wife in a violent ransom scheme.

Richard Gerald Jordan, a 79-year-old Vietnam veteran who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, is scheduled to receive a lethal injection at the Mississippi State Penitentiary in Parchman. He is one of several people on Mississippi’s death row suing the state over its three-drug execution protocol, which they claim is inhumane.

Jordan has several last-minute appeals still pending before the Supreme Court.

Jordan would be the third person executed in the state in the last 10 years; the most recent execution was in December 2022.

His execution comes a day after a man was executed in Florida in what is shaping up to be a year with the most executions since 2015.

Jordan was sentenced to death in 1976 for killing and kidnapping Edwina Marter, a mother of two young children, earlier that year. As of the beginning of the year, Jordan is one of 22 people across the country sentenced for crimes in the 1970s who are still on death row, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.

Eric Marter, who was 11 when his mother was killed, said neither he, his brother, nor his father will attend the execution, but other family members are expected to be there.

“It should have happened a long time ago,” he said of the execution. “I’m not really interested in giving him the benefit of the doubt.”

Mississippi Supreme Court records show that in January 1976, Jordan called the Gulf National Bank in Gulfport, Mississippi, and asked to speak with a loan officer. After he was told Charles Marter could speak to him, he hung up. He then looked up the Marters’ home address in a telephone book and kidnapped Edwina Marter. According to court records, Jordan took her to a forest and shot her to death before calling her husband, claiming she was safe and demanding $25,000.

“He needs to be punished,” Eric Marter said.

The execution would end Jordan’s decades-long court process that included four trials and numerous appeals. On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a petition that claimed he was denied due process rights.

“He was never given what, for a long time, the law has entitled him to, which is a mental health professional that is independent of the prosecution and can assist his defense,” said lawyer Krissy Nobile, the director of Mississippi’s Office of Capital Post-Conviction Counsel, who represents Jordan. “Because of that, his jury never got to hear about his Vietnam experiences.”

A recent petition asking Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves for clemency echoed Nobile’s claim. It argued Jordan developed PTSD after serving three back-to-back tours in the Vietnam War, which could have been a factor in his crime. Reeves denied the request.

“His war service, his war trauma, was considered not relevant in his murder trial,” said Franklin Rosenblatt, the president of the National Institute of Military Justice, who wrote the petition on Jordan’s behalf. “We just know so much more than we did 10 years ago, and certainly during Vietnam, about the effect of war trauma on the brain and how that affects ongoing behaviors.”

Eric Marter said he doesn’t buy that argument.

“I know what he did. He wanted money, and he couldn’t take her with him. And he — so he did what he did,” he said.

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Mississippi

Mother, her 2 daughters among 5 killed in collision between train and van

Published

7 hours ago

March 28, 2026

Press Room

Mother, her 2 daughters among 5 killed in collision between train and van

STONE COUNTY, Miss. (WLOX/Gray News) — Multiple people were killed in a crash between a train and a van on Friday afternoon in Mississippi.

Stone County Sheriff Todd Stewart said the crash happened around 1 p.m. on Pump Branch Road. First responders had to cut through the woods to get to the wreckage.

There were six people in the van at the time of the crash, Stewart said. Stone County Coroner Wayne Flurry confirmed five of them died in the crash.

Multiple people are dead after a crash between a train and a van in Mississippi. (WLOX)

The sixth person was airlifted to New Orleans.

The five victims were identified as 26-year-old Ryan C. Peterson, who was a corrections officer with the Harrison County Sheriff’s Department, 23-year-old Demarcus Perkins, 45-year-old Kristina Carver, and Carver’s two daughters, 22-year-old Emley Chamblee and 20-year-old Sarabeth Chamblee.

Nearby resident Pam Olson has been sounding the alarm on the Pump Branch Road railroad crossing for some time. She was tending to her garden with her husband when the sound of screeching brakes made them jolt.

“We heard it,” explained Olson. “My husband and I were in the yard working on our flowerbeds. I told my husband a train hit another vehicle. My husband ran up there and said, ‘Pam, it’s bad.’”

A recent report from the Stone County Enterprise outlines another wreck in the same spot, which resulted in the driver of a pickup truck being airlifted. Stewart also pointed out a fatal train accident in Stone County happened at the location in 2023, claiming the life of a Wiggins woman.

“This’d be the second incident in the last four to five weeks involving fatalities and the third incident in the last year, all involving fatalities,” explained Stewart. “To date, we’ve lost seven folks within the last year.”

The crossing does not have crossing arms or lights. Stone County District 1 Supervisor Jimmy Springs said he previously reached out to Mississippi Department of Transportation railroad engineers and was told crossing arms are on the way for two crossings, including the one at Pump Branch Road. However, it could take a year for them to be installed.

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Mississippi

CLASH Endurance triathlon begins on Mississippi Gulf Coast

Published

20 hours ago

March 27, 2026

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CLASH Endurance triathlon begins on Mississippi Gulf Coast

GULFPORT, Miss. (WLOX) — The CLASH Endurance triathlon officially started along the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

Maya Reilly placed first in the collegiate female draft-legal division.

“I placed first, so I’m pretty stoked about that,” Reilly said.

Winning a triathlon means beating competitors from across the country and around the world in swimming, biking and running.

“Definitely a lot of hours goes into the sport, but the actual race was tough. It was like full gas, swim, bike, and run, so over an hour. And I’m excited to be able to be done and take home the win,” Reilly said.

Maya Reilly placed first in the collegiate female draft-legal division.(WLOX)

Athletes praise Gulf Coast hospitality

It’s CLASH Endurance’s first year on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, and athletes say the experience is just as memorable as the competition.

“I have had such a great time down here in the south. It’s, like, the nicest people I’ve ever met. The culture is amazing. The music’s great. The food’s great. Honestly, nothing but positive for me. It’s awesome,” said Annette Zavala of the UC Davis Triathlon Team.

“I really like this course. It was really cool to see them swim in the marina. The course was very accessible to view, which I really appreciated,” said Sophia Najera of the UC Davis Triathlon Team.

It’s CLASH Endurance’s first year on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, and athletes say the... — It’s CLASH Endurance’s first year on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, and athletes say the experience is just as memorable as the competition.(WLOX)

More than 28 countries and all 50 states are represented, bringing a boost to the coastal economy.

“All of the athletes who are visiting coastal Mississippi, they’re staying in the hotels, they’re visiting the restaurants, they’re shopping, and they’re not just staying for a night or two. Some of them are staying and playing,” said Blair Lahaye, CLASH Endurance vice president of communications.

Athletes say it’s the support from the crowd and each other that pushes them across the finish line.

“You might have the worst mindset out there, but just hearing someone believe in you, like, that’s sometimes all you need to move forward,” Zavala said.

“I could not have gone through half the races I did, half the trainings I did, without the support of my teammates. We’re really excited to come race tomorrow, and we were super glad to get to be able to cheer on our teammates today,” Najera said.

Athletes say it’s the support from the crowd and each other that pushes them across the finish... — Athletes say it’s the support from the crowd and each other that pushes them across the finish line.(WLOX)

More races are scheduled this weekend.

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Mississippi

What channel is Mississippi State baseball vs Ole Miss on today? Time, TV schedule to watch college baseball game

Published

1 day ago

March 27, 2026

Press Room

What channel is Mississippi State baseball vs Ole Miss on today? Time, TV schedule to watch college baseball game

Mississippi State baseball, coming off a sweep of Vanderbilt, travels to Ole Miss for a three-game series, starting on March 27.

The Bulldogs (21-4, 4-2 SEC) swept Vandy last weekend in Starkville to move above .500 in league play after two weeks.

Ole Miss (19-7, 3-3) took two of three games from Kentucky last weekend in Oxford.

Mississippi State and Ole Miss will also play on April 28 in Pearl.

Here’s how you can watch Mississippi State baseball vs Ole Miss:

Mississippi State vs. Ole Miss on March 27 will be televised via streaming on SEC Network+, which is housed on the ESPN app and can be accessed via a SEC Network subscription. If you are subscribed to SEC Network, you can access SEC Network+ online.