Man convicted in death of Michael Jordan's dad to be paroled

Updated Aug. 18, 2020 5:51 p.m. ET

Associated Press

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — One of two men convicted in the murder of Michael Jordan’s father in 1993 will be released from prison in three years, state officials said Tuesday.

The N.C. Post-Release Supervision and Parole Commission announced in a three-paragraph statement that it has granted parole to Larry Demery, who is to be released in August 2023, news outlets reported.

The 2023 release date arises from a portion of Demery's parole agreement stipulating he will take part in a program which provides scholastic and vocational help to prepare him for life after he is released from prison, said Greg Thomas, spokesman for the N.C. Department of Public Safety.

A spokeswoman for Jordan declined comment on Tuesday.

During their trial, prosecutors used testimony from Demery to identify Daniel Green as the triggerman in the deadly robbery of James Jordan early on July 23, 1993. Jordan’s body was found 11 days later in a South Carolina swamp and identified using dental records. Demery and Green were both 18 at the time.

Green said previously that he and Demery were both at a cookout when his friend left to meet someone for a drug deal. He said Demery returned hours later looking shaken and asking him to help dispose of 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.

The state presented evidence at trial that James Jordan was killed in his red Lexus as he napped along the side of an access road off U.S. Highway 74 in Lumberton near Interstate 95. Prosecutors had said the motive was robbery.

Green admitted to helping Demery dump the body off a bridge into a swamp just over the state line in McColl, South Carolina. The two men later rode around in the Lexus for several days, making calls from the car phone.

A jury decided on a life sentence plus 40 years for Demery after he pleaded guilty in 1995 to first-degree murder, armed robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery. He was resentenced in 2008 after an error was found in his initial sentencing. Demery then received a life sentence, making him eligible for parole.

A judge sentenced Green to life in prison for murder during the commission of a robbery and 10 years for conspiracy to commit robbery. The sentences were to be served consecutively.