Death penalty mental health experts

Richard Gerald Jordan, a Mississippi death-row prisoner, asked the Court to pause his scheduled June 25 execution while it considered his challenge. Jordan argues his death sentence violated his rights because a psychiatrist’s report was given to prosecutors and used against him at sentencing. He says later Supreme Court rulings required an independent mental-health expert; he says the Mississippi Supreme Court then denied his state post-conviction challenge.

The Court did not put the execution on hold; it denied the application as moot (no longer a live dispute). It closed without deciding the request. The Court did not publish how the justices voted.

The request sought only a temporary pause, and the Court’s closure did not decide Jordan’s challenge to his death sentence. Jordan’s application says the Mississippi Supreme Court denied his state post-conviction petition; the record describes no further state-court proceedings. The docket lists no related merits case and no argument date.

Facts on this page come from the Supreme Court docket, orders, and opinions for No. 24A1143. The answers restate that record in plain words; explainer copy is written from the record and the filings only.

• SupremeCourt.gov docket page
• SupremeCourt.gov

Checked October 3, 2026