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Man Convicted Of Killing Michael Jordan's Father Could Potentially Be Released From Prison
James Jordan Sr., the father of basketball legend Michael Jordan, was shot and killed in his car back in 1993.
One of the men convicted in the slaying of Michael Jordan's father nearly three decades ago could potentially be released from prison.
The North Carolina state parole agency is considering parole for Larry Demery, 44, local news outlet WECT reported Thursday. Demery received a sentence of life in prison after pleading guilty to first-degree murder — among other charges — in connection with the slaying of James Jordan Sr., 56, in July 1993.
Jordan Sr. was shot and killed while he was sleeping in his car outside a rest stop in North Carolina. His body wasn't found until nearly two weeks later after Demery and Daniel Andre Green dumped his body off a bridge.
Prosecutors have maintained that Jordan Sr. was killed after being targeted for robbery, The Associated Press reported in 2018.
Both Demery and Green have accused each other of firing the shot that killed Jordan Sr. Last year, Green's bid to obtain a new trial and attempt to argue Demery was responsible for the murder was rejected by an appeals court, according to local news outlet WPDE.
Under North Carolina's current sentencing laws, there is no parole for serious crimes committed on or after Oct. 1, 1994. However, Demery was sentenced under previous guidelines so he is still eligible for parole, reports local outlet WWAY.
Michael Jordan was 30 at the time of the killing and had already won multiple NBA titles during his time with the Chicago Bulls. Today, he is the principal owner of the Charlotte Hornets.
The killing of his father badly shook Jordan, who lost his enthusiasm for basketball in 1993 and went into an early retirement from basketball, The New York Times reported in 1994. His retirement was short lived and he returned to the game in 1995, according to his page on NBA.com.
“I think about him every day. I’m pretty sure I always will. Every day of my life," Michael Jordan said of his father in March 1996, according to the Chicago Tribune.
