Richard Gerald Jordan is the oldest and the longest serving death row inmate in Mississippi. He was convicted of capital murder in connection with the kidnapping and murder of Edwina Marta in 1976. Jordan kidnapped Marta, forced her husband to pay a $25,000 ransom, and then executed her in a secluded area after collecting the money. He faced the death penalty on four separate occasions, three of which he successfully managed to avoid. However, at the fourth trial, his ran out. Having repeatedly contested his conviction, prosecutors refused to offer him a plea agreement and he was sentenced to death.