CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Attorneys for the man convicted of killing Michael Jordan's father in North Carolina in 1993 and dumping his body in South Carolina say they have new evidence to bolster their request for a new trial.
Court documents reviewed by The Charlotte Observer claim misleading testimony and misconduct by the prosecutor and jury helped wrongfully convict Daniel Green of murder. His attorneys have long argued that Green helped get rid of James Jordan's body in a Marlboro County, South Carolina, swamp but didn't participate in the carjacking.
The attorneys — N.C. Central University law professor Scott Holmes and Ian Mance of the Southern Coalition for Social Justice — are seeking a hearing on their evidence.
Robeson County Superior Court Judge Robert Floyd could rule at any time after the state submits its filing, which is due by month's end.
Green and his friend Larry Demery were convicted 20 years ago of killing 56-year-old Jordan as he awoke from a nap along U.S. 74 near Lumberton. Both were sentenced to life in prison.
A jury found Green fired the fatal shot. His attorneys argue Demery shot Jordan. The verdict has been upheld on several appeals.
The latest documents include a sworn statement from the trial's former jury forewoman that she visited the site where Jordan's body was found. Such an independent investigation during the trial violated a judge's order, the newspaper reports.
The attorney general's office says the case should not be reopened. It has dismissed the defense's findings as mostly irrelevant and inadmissible.
Under state law at the time of sentencing, Demery, now 40, is eligible for parole on the murder charge this year. Green, 41, received an additional 10-year sentence for conspiracy.
Cox Media Group
