US Executes Vietnam Veteran, Mentally Ill Inmate Amid Capital Punishment Surge

In 2025, the United States has seen a notable increase in executions, with 25 men put to death in the first half of the year, matching the total executions of the previous year. This surge follows President Donald Trump’s executive order aiming to aggressively pursue the death penalty for severe crimes, reversing the Biden administration's earlier commutations. Florida leads the states in executions, exemplified by the recent lethal injection of Thomas Gudinas, despite ongoing legal debates over mental illness protections in death penalty cases. Meanwhile, Mississippi executed Richard Gerald Jordan, a 79-year-old Vietnam War veteran who spent nearly 50 years on death row for the 1976 kidnapping and murder of Edwina Marter. Jordan’s case highlighted issues of mental health and post-traumatic stress disorder related to his military service, with his legal team arguing he was denied proper mental health evaluations during his trial. Jordan’s execution reflects broader concerns about the lengthy time inmates spend on death row and the evolving legal and ethical standards surrounding capital punishment.