Parole Denied for Man Convicted of Killing Michael Jordan's Father

By Alyssa Wilson Published: October 26, 2021

Parole Denied for Man Convicted of Killing Michael Jordan’s Father

FILE- In this Friday, Aug. 20, 2010, file photo, Daniel Green, who is serving a life sentence for the July 1993 death of former NBA basketball star Michael Jordan's father James Jordan, listens to questions during an interview at the Harnett County Correctional Institute in Lillington, N.C. A North Carolina judge is scheduled to hear arguments Wednesday, Dec. 5, in the case of Green. The judge will decide whether the arguments warrant an evidentiary hearing that could lead to a new trial for Green. (AP Photo/Sara D. Davis, File)

In Summary

A North Carolina board has denied parole for one of the men convicted of killing Michael Jordan's father in July 1993.

One of the men convicted of murdering the father of Michael Jordan has been denied parole.

A North Carolina Department of Public Safety spokesperson confirmed that Daniel Green was not granted parole on Friday. No reason was given, but his case will be reviewed again in three years, according to CNN.

Green, alongside Larry Demery, was convicted of first-degree murder for killing James Jordan on July 23, 1993, while he was sleeping in his car on a North Carolina highway.

Demery said the two were preparing to rob a motel when they saw Jordan’s car and they thought it looked expensive. During the trial, Demery said they changed their target to rob Jordan, and when he woke up, Jordan was shot. His body was found in a creek near McColl, South Carolina, weeks later, The New York Times reported.

Last year, Demery was granted parole through the Mutual Agreement Parole Program, which is a scholastic and vocational program. He is set to be paroled on August 6, 2023.

Green’s attorney Christine Mumma, who is the executive director for the North Carolina Center on Actual Innocence, said there’d been a lack of justice for her client. “Daniel Green hasn’t received justice since the day he was arrested, so I didn’t have much hope that it would start with the parole process,” she said.

Adding, “it’s interesting how some people can be so blind to what others can clearly see. It’s a bureaucracy. They don’t have to give a reason. It’s easier to just say, ‘Come back in three years.'”

Three months after his father’s murder, Michael Jordan spoke about how it impacted him on The Oprah Winfrey Show. He also spoke about it in the 2020 ESPN documentary The Last Dance, saying his dad was his “rock” and that he helped him stay on track.

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