Jordan’s killer pursues new trial
Correctional Institution in Robeson County, the same county where Jordan was killed.
Jordan was killed July 23, 1993. His body was found 11 days later in a South Carolina swamp. It wasn’t identified until dental records confirmed it was James Jordan. His body had been cremated except for his jaw and hands, which were saved for identification.
On Wednesday, Green goes to court, where defense attorney Chris Mumma and prosecutors from the state attorney’s general office will argue whether he deserves an evidentiary hearing that could lead to a new trial. The state Court of Appeals upheld his conviction in 1996, as did the state Supreme Court in 1999.
Green was convicted of first-degree murder. His friend, Larry Demery, testified that Green pulled the trigger and killed Jordan in a roadside robbery gone wrong. Both are serving life sentences.
Green, 44, was 18 when Jordan was killed. He’s probably best remembered for a video in which he rapped while wearing an NBA All-star ring and gold watch that Michael Jordan gave to his father.
Superior Court Judge Winston Gilchrist will hear the arguments in Lee County court in Sanford. Defense filings make various claims.
Green said Demery left the cookout to meet someone for a drug deal and he refused an invitation to accompany Demery. Green said he was just out of prison for a conviction that was later vacated, and a girl “was kissing on” him so there was no way he’d abandon that opportunity.
Demery returned hours later, Green said, and told him he approached Jordan at a motel parking lot because he mistakenly thought Jordan was the drug connection he was supposed to meet. He said Demery told him the two had an altercation and Demery killed Jordan.
If that’s true, then much of what people think they know about the murder is wrong, starting with the notion that James Jordan was killed as he slept in his parked Lexus along Interstate 95.