Larry Demery, one of two men serving life sentences for the killing of James Jordan, the father of Michael Jordan, will be paroled in 2023. The N.C. Post-Release Supervision and Parole Commission announced it has granted parole to Demery, who along with Daniel Green, was convicted of killing the elder Jordan on July 23, 1993.

The murder of James Jordan

Larry Demery was 17 years old when James Jordan, the father of former NBA star Michael Jordan, was shot and killed on July 23, 1993. Demery and his friend, Daniel Green, then 18, were charged with the murder of Jordan, who was sleeping on the side of the road after a long road trip. Demery and Green have pointed the finger at each other when it came to who pulled the trigger. According to court documents, the original motive was robbery.

Although authorities have determined James Jordan was murdered on July 23, 1993, his body wasn’t found until August. His body was found with a bullet through the chest. Jordan’s body was badly decomposed and found by a fisherman in a swamp roughly 60 miles away from where the shooting took place.

Demery was sentenced to life in prison in 1996 after pleading guilty to first-degree murder. Green was also sentenced to life, but has maintained his innocence. Green said he was not present for the shooting, but helped his friend dispose of the body.

Daniel Green’s version of the story

According to The Chicago Tribune, Green and Demery were both at a party the night before James Jordan was killed. Green said Deremy had left the party early to get ready for a drug-related trip to New York. Green remained at the party, but Demery returned later and was in distress.

“I had never seen him like that before,” Green told the Chicago Tribune in 2018. “I had seen him in situations where he was upset and I had seen him in situations where he was scared. But this was just a different level.” Demery said he had been involved in a fight with another man and shot him. Green said that Demery came back to the party and pleaded for Green’s help.

Faced with turning his back on his longtime buddy or disposing a body, Green went back to help Demery. He helped dump the body in the swamp, a decision he still regrets. “When I was a kid,” Green said, “I used to read these books called ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ books when you make one decision and turn the page. That’s kind of like it was. You look back and think, man, if I had done this (instead).”

Larry Demery will be paroled

According to CBS News, Larry Demery is expected to be released from prison in 2023. “Under the agreement, the offender’s parole release date is 8/6/2023,” the state of North Carolina announced in a press release. Upon his release, Demery will have assistance adjusting to life outside of prison through a vocational program.

While Demery has a release date, Green has been turned away when asking for the court to review his case. According to WRAL.com, a Superior Court blocked Green’s latest attempt in January. Chris Mumma, Green’s attorney has said Demery told several people within the prison that Demery lied on the witness stand.

“Mr. Green’s case has been a travesty of justice, often driven by factors beyond the law, since the time of his conviction through the 20 years it took for his post-conviction claims to be denied without a hearing,” Mumma said.