Mississippi executes inmate who’s been on death row almost half a century

Richard Gerald Jordan, 79, received a lethal injection at the Mississippi State Penitentiary in Parchman after being on death row for nearly 50 years - (AP)

Mississippi has executed Richard Gerald Jordan, the state’s longest-serving death row inmate.

Jordan, 79, was put to death by lethal injection at the Mississippi State Penitentiary in Parchman Wednesday evening, nearly 50 years on from when he kidnapped and killed a bank loan officer’s wife in a violent ransom scheme.