One of the men convicted in the murder of James Jordan, father of basketball legend Michael Jordan, has been granted parole, according to state officials.
Larry Demery was granted parole via the Mutual Agreement Parole Program (MAPP), a scholastic and vocational program, according to a Tuesday release from the North Carolina Post-Release Supervision and Parole Commission.
James Jordan was killed on July 23, 1993 while sleeping in his car on a highway in Lumberton, North Carolina. Demery and his co-defendant Daniel Green were both convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison.
North Carolina eliminated parole from crimes committed on or after October 1, 1994. But since Demery was sentenced before the change in guidelines, he was still eligible, the release said.
Demery’s parole date has been set for August 6, 2023.
A representative for Michael Jordan said they have no comment at this time. In a documentary about Jordan, called “The Last Dance,” he called his father his “rock.”
The car James Jordan was driving the night of his death was a gift from his son. He pulled off the road to take a nap that night.
Demery said he and Green had been preparing to rob a motel when the expensive car caught their eye and they changed their target. Jordan awoke and asked what was happening as he was shot, Demery said during the trial.
Demery said they had no idea who their victim was until they rifled through his possessions.
“I believe we’ve killed Michael Jordan’s daddy,” Demery said Green told him.
They took his body to a swamp near Bennettsville, South Carolina, Demery said. Witnesses at the time said the young men drove Jordan’s car to pick up dates after killing him.
