Parole approved for man convicted in killing of Michael Jordan’s dad

LUMBERTON, N.C. — One of the two men convicted of killing Michael Jordan’s father, James Jordan, in 1993, has been granted parole.

According to the North Carolina Post Release Supervision and Parole Commission, Larry M. Demery is scheduled for release in 2023. According to a parole commission letter released on Aug. 18, Demery was approved to be released.

The letter states that the approved date of release would be Aug. 6, 2023. That date is contingent on Demery remaining in good standing as a prisoner.

Demery had been denied parole in two previous hearings.

Letter from the Parole Commission announcing the parole approval for Larry Demery, one of the men accused of murdering James Jordan, father of Michael Jordan. Demery was sentenced to life in prison. He'll be released in 8/2023 contingent on good behavior. pic.twitter.com/JmKbO0H8N6
— Michael Stolp (@StolpWSOC9) August 18, 2020

Both Daniel Green and Demery were convicted in the murder of James Jordan, however, Green has continued to plead his innocence since the original trial.

[ALSO READ: Judge plans to reject new trial in death of Michael Jordan’s father]

Green, who was 18 when James Jordan was killed, has said he and Demery were both at a cookout when his friend left to meet someone for a drug deal. Green said he stayed at the party because he was flirting with a woman there. Demery returned hours later, Green said, appearing shaken and asking him to help dispose of James Jordan’s body in the swamp.

Green has said Demery told him he mistook James Jordan for a drug connection and shot him after an altercation.

During their trial, Demery testified that the pair was going to just tie up James Jordan. He said that Green decided on his own to pull the trigger, shooting and killing Jordan.

Green did not testify at the trial, but later his attorneys argued that Demery had said, “that he felt coached by law enforcement to testify falsely against Mr. Green.”

Green admitted that he helped dump Jordan’s body but maintains he wasn’t present when Jordan was fatally shot in the chest.

Several attempts by Green’s lawyers to get a new trial have failed.

In 2018, Attorney Hugh Rogers, who represented Demery, said the case pits the men’s accounts against each other but ultimately more evidence corroborated his client’s version.

Prosecutors have said that James Jordan was killed as he slept in his parked Lexus along Highway 74 after being targeted for robbery. He was on his way home from a funeral when he stopped on the side of the highway just south of Lumberton to take a nap.

Demery and Green were both convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison for the crime. They are eligible for parole because of the sentencing laws in effect at the time.

Green won’t be eligible for parole until October 2021.