The convict was executed for the murder of a banker's wife and extortion of money from his victim's family.
The United States executed a prisoner this week who had been on death row for nearly half a century.
This was reported by the publication dailymail.co.uk
Richard Gerald Jordan, 79, was sentenced to death in 1976 for the murder and kidnapping of Edwina Marter.
He died Wednesday by lethal injection at the Mississippi State Penitentiary in Parchman.
The execution began at 6 p.m., according to jail officials. Gerald Jordan lay on the gurney with his mouth slightly open and took several deep breaths before he went still. The time of death was determined to be 6:16 p.m.
Jordan was one of several death row inmates who sued the state over its three-drug execution protocol, arguing it was inhumane.
When given the opportunity to make a final statement on Wednesday, he said: “First of all, I would like to thank everyone for the humane way of doing this. I want to apologize to the victim's family.”
He also thanked his lawyers and wife and asked for forgiveness. His last words were: “See you all on the other side.”
Jordan's wife, Marsha Jordan, witnessed the execution along with his attorney, Chrissy Nobile, and his spiritual adviser, the Rev. Tim Murphy. His wife and attorney rubbed their eyes several times.
Mississippi Supreme Court records show that in January 1976, Jordan called the Gulf National Bank in Gulfport and asked to speak to a loan officer.
After being told that Charles Marter could speak to him, he hung up. He then looked up the Marters' home address in the phone book and kidnapped Edwina Marter. He took the woman into the woods and shot her. The killer then called the victim's husband and demanded a ransom of $25,000.
The man's lawyer insisted that the convicted man was a Vietnam War veteran who suffered from PTSD and asked that this be taken into account. The relatives of the murdered woman insisted that the criminal killed their relative not because of a disorder, but because of a lack of funds.
