Jordan v. State

Decision Date02 June 2005
Docket NumberNo. 2002-DR-00896-SCT.,2002-DR-00896-SCT.
Citation912 So.2d 800
PartiesRichard Gerald JORDAN v. STATE of Mississippi.
CourtMississippi Supreme Court

Office of Capital Post-Conviction Counsel by David P. Voisin, Robert Ryan, attorneys for appellant.

Office of the Attorney General by Marvin L. White, Jr., attorney for appellee.

EN BANC.

WALLER, Presiding Justice, for the Court.

¶ 1. Once again this Court reviews Richard Gerald Jordan's death penalty case. Since his conviction in 1976 for the murder of Edwina Marter, Jordan's case has been reviewed a total of six times by various courts, including this Court, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and the United States Supreme Court.

FACTUAL BACKGROUND

¶ 2. In January of 1976, Richard Gerald Jordan traveled to Gulfport from Louisiana. He telephoned the Gulf National Bank and asked to speak to a loan officer. After he was told that Charles Marter could assist him, Jordan ended the call and found Marter's Gulfport residence address in the telephone directory. He went to the Marter's residence and, pretending to be an employee of the electric company, gained entrance to the house. He kidnapped Charles's wife, Edwina, forcing her to leave her three-year-old son sleeping alone in the house. Jordan forced Edwina to drive to a deserted area of the DeSoto National Forest.

¶ 3. Jordan shot Edwina in the back of the head. The defense claimed that Edwina tried to run away and that Jordan attempted to fire a warning shot over her head. The bullet entered her skull at the lower right occipital area of the brain and traveled upward, exiting above her left eye. The State claimed that Jordan executed Edwina by firing one bullet into the back of her head as she knelt in front of him.

¶ 4. Jordan then disposed of the murder weapon and called Charles Marter, telling him that he had kidnapped Edwina and that she was alive and well. Jordan demanded that Charles leave $25,000 on a blue jacket that he would find on the side of U.S. Highway 49. However, when Charles attempted to leave the money, he did not find the jacket. Jordan called Charles the next day and again demanded the $25,000. He assured Charles that Edwina was fine and that she was concerned for her children. On his second attempt, Charles found the jacket and left the money, as he had been instructed. When Jordan retrieved the money, two officers attempted to arrest him. Jordan escaped but was later captured at a roadblock. He confessed to the crime and told police where to find Edwina's body. He cooperated with the investigating officers, telling them where he had disposed of the gun and showing them where he had hidden the money and his automobile.

¶ 5. Jordan was convicted and sentenced to death in 1976. Subsequently, the law pertaining to death penalty proceedings changed, and Jordan's conviction and sentence were vacated. See Jackson v. State, 337 So.2d 1242 (Miss.1976). In 1977, Jordan was retried in a bifurcated trial and was again convicted and sentenced to death. The conviction and sentence was affirmed by this Court in Jordan v. State, 365 So.2d 1198 (Miss.1978), cert. denied, 444 U.S. 885, 100 S.Ct. 175, 62 L.Ed.2d 114 (1979). See also In re Jordan, 390 So.2d 584 (Miss.1980) (on petition for writ of error coram nobis).

¶ 6. His death sentence was later vacated by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit due to unconstitutional penalty-phase instructions. Jordan v. Watkins, 681 F.2d 1067 (5th Cir.), rehearing denied sub nom. Jordan v. Thigpen, 688 F.2d 395 (5th Cir.1982). The Fifth Circuit remanded the case for a new sentencing trial.

¶ 7. In 1983, Jordan was again sentenced to death and that sentence was affirmed by this Court. Jordan v. State, 464 So.2d 475 (Miss.1985). However, based on its decision in Skipper v. South Carolina, 476 U.S. 1, 106 S.Ct. 1669, 90 L.Ed.2d 1 (1986), the Supreme Court vacated Jordan's death sentence.1 Jordan v. Mississippi, 476 U.S. 1101, 106 S.Ct. 1942, 90 L.Ed.2d 352 (1986). On remand, Jordan entered into an agreement with the State whereby he would forego another sentencing trial and accept a sentence of life imprisonment without parole.

¶ 8. In 1994, this Court invalidated that agreement, finding that life without parole was not an option under then Miss.Code Ann. § 97-3-21 (1987). Once again Jordan's case was reversed and remanded for another sentencing hearing. Jordan v. State, 697 So.2d 1190 (Miss.1997). On April 24, 1998, Jordan was again sentenced to death, and this Court affirmed that sentence in 2001. Jordan v. State, 786 So.2d 987 (Miss.2001), cert. denied, 534 U.S. 1085, 122 S.Ct. 823, 151 L.Ed.2d 705 (2002). Jordan is now seeking post-conviction relief and has filed an application for leave to proceed in the trial court and the petition for post-conviction relief. Finding no merit to Jordan's claims, we deny Jordan's application for leave to seek post-conviction relief.

ANALYSIS

¶ 9. In the motion for post-conviction relief, Jordan raises thirty claims. We have consolidated those claims below.

I. Blood Spatter and the "Execution-style" theory

¶ 10. Jordan raises ten claims that are included under this heading. Broadly stated, Jordan objects to the way in which the State presented its theory that Edwina Marter was killed "execution-style." Jordan's position has always been that he shot Edwina when she suddenly ran away from him. The State refuted Jordan's defense with Officer David Melton who testified that blood spatter patterns at the scene demonstrated Edwina was in a stationary position, standing or kneeling in front of Jordan when she was shot. The State also presented the testimony of forensic pathologist, Dr. William D. Atchison, who opined that Edwina was not running away from Jordan and was, in fact, probably kneeling in front of him.

¶ 11. As he has in past pleadings, Jordan once again objects to the testimony of Officer David Melton and to Melton's qualifications as an expert witness. Melton testified for the first time in Jordan's 1983 trial and in every subsequent trial. The State correctly points out that the Court has now twice considered David Melton as an expert witness and the evidence regarding blood spatter patterns. In both instances, the Court has denied Jordan relief. In the 1985 direct appeal opinion, we held that Melton was properly qualified to express an opinion regarding blood spatter. See Jordan v. State, 464 So.2d 475, 484 (Miss.1985). Again, in the most recent appeal, we held that the trial court properly admitted Melton's testimony. Jordan v. State, 786 So.2d at 1017. The State argues that this claim cannot be re-litigated under the provisions of Miss.Code Ann. § 99-39-21(3). Furthermore, the State points out that any attempt to litigate this claim on a different legal or factual theory than that previously forwarded is barred by the provisions of Miss.Code Ann. § 99-39-21(2).

¶ 12. We agree that this issue has already been litigated and is now procedurally barred. Jordan is attempting to rephrase the issue as a knowing presentation of false or misleading evidence, but the underlying claim is the same one that has already been addressed and found to have no merit.

¶ 13. Notwithstanding the procedural bar, we will examine the merits of the claim. David Melton had received training in the interpretation of blood stains and could opine with authority about the blood found at the scene. Melton testified that he was employed by the Gulfport Police Department from 1966-1969 and by the Harrison County Sheriff's Department from 1972-1977. He attended the Mississippi State Law Enforcement Training Academy and received training in fingerprints and blood stains. As this Court has already determined, the trial court did not err in allowing Melton's testimony.

¶ 14. We now also consider the standard to be applied to Jordan's claim that the State knowingly presented false testimony. Jordan asserts that if there is any reasonable likelihood that the allegedly false evidence affected the judgment of the jury, then the defendant is entitled to a new trial. We find that Jordan has not demonstrated a reasonable likelihood that David Melton's testimony on blood spatter evidence resulted in a death sentence where it is undisputed that Jordan was twice convicted and sentenced to death in previous trials in which David Melton did not testify on the issue of blood spatters. We find that the issue is without merit.

¶ 15. Jordan's next argument is that it is a violation of the law of the case doctrine and the doctrines of collateral and judicial estoppel to allow the State to present evidence that Edwina was killed "execution-style."2 He argues that at the first two trials, the State acquiesced to his account that he shot Edwina when she tried to run away from him. He argues it was error then for the State, in subsequent proceedings, to argue instead that Edwina was kneeling in front of Jordan when she was shot. Jordan cites a number of federal cases for the proposition that pursuing inconsistent theories is cause for reversal. Donnelly v. DeChristoforo, 416 U.S. 637, 94 S.Ct. 1868, 40 L.Ed.2d 431 (1974); Smith v. Groose, 205 F.3d 1045, 1052 (8th Cir.2000); Drake v. Kemp, 762 F.2d 1449, 1470-79 (11th Cir.1985).3

¶ 16. The State argues the evidence that Edwina Marter was killed execution-style was not a new theory. The State attempted to introduce this evidence at the sentencing trial in 1977 and the State used this theory in its re-sentencing of Jordan in 1983.

¶ 17. We agree with the State and also now find that no objection was raised on this claim at trial or on appeal. Furthermore, Jordan could have and yet failed to raise this issue in previous post-conviction pleadings. Therefore, Jordan's claim that it was a violation of the law of ...

To continue reading

Request your trial
14 cases
  • Puckett v. Epps, Civil Action No. 2:04CV302HSO.
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — Southern District of Mississippi
    • March 30, 2009
    ...exhibited the qualities of callousness and cruelty that justified a finding that it was heinous, atrocious and cruel. Jordan v. State, 912 So.2d 800, 818-19 (Miss.2005). Similarly, a murder committed after a kidnaping, sexual assault and a rape also exhibited those qualities and justified t......
  • Jordan v. Epps
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — Southern District of Mississippi
    • August 30, 2010
  • Gillett v. State
    • United States
    • Mississippi Supreme Court
    • June 12, 2014
    ...at 491–93.8 Id.9 Id. at 492 (citation omitted).10 Id. at 493.11 Rideout v. State, 496 So.2d 667, 668 (Miss.1986).12 Jordan v. State, 912 So.2d 800, 813 (Miss.2005).13 Jordan, 912 So.2d at 813 (holding that defendant could not demonstrate that counsel's performance caused prejudice to his de......
  • Jordan v. Epps
    • United States
    • U.S. Court of Appeals — Fifth Circuit
    • June 25, 2014
    ...claims were without merit, denied Jordan's application for leave to proceed on his claims for post-conviction relief. See Jordan v. State, 912 So.2d 800 (Miss.2005); see alsoMiss.Code Ann. § 99–39–7 (requiring leave of the Mississippi Supreme Court in certain circumstances before a defendan......
  • Request a trial to view additional results

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT