North Carolina judge in Michael Jordan's father's murder trial pleas for convicted killer's release

CHICAGO -- The North Carolina judge who presided over the 1996 murder trial of James Jordan, the father to NBA great Michael Jordan, petitioned the state's parole commission Tuesday to release the man he sentenced to life in prison.

The judge, Gregory Weeks, said a forensic blood analyst investigating the case against Daniel Green did not disclose a key finding: The fact that a blood-like substance found inside the car where Jordan was killed might not have been his blood at all.

During the trial, prosecutors argued that Jordan was sleeping in the passenger seat of his Lexus parked along Highway 74 when Green walked up to the vehicle and shot him, Weeks wrote in an affidavit submitted to the commission. The argument supported the testimony of their main witness, Larry Demery, Green's co-defendant, who accused Green of pulling the trigger.

But the analyst never disclosed that other forensic tests she ran from inside the vehicle came back negative or inconclusive for blood.

On Tuesday, Weeks told the commission that the omission of these test results - evidence that could have changed the outcome of the trial - has haunted him for nearly three decades, according to several criminal justice advocates who were at the proceeding.

In North Carolina, individuals convicted of crimes committed as adults typically do not provide interviews during parole hearings; Green was not present Tuesday.

"This is the only part of the criminal justice system where hearing directly from the person accused is not of the highest importance," said Ben Finholt, the Director of the Just Sentencing Project at the Wilson center for Science and Justice at Duke School of Law. He did note that individuals convicted of crimes committed when they were juveniles do participate in an interview with the Parole Commission.

Finholt said the Parole Commission does not have a formal rubric for parole determination, though typically considers a number of factors.

"In most cases, the Parole Commissioners will be looking at essentially whether or not they think that you are the type of person who's likely to commit crimes again. And they're basing that judgement off of what type of classes you've taken, whether or not you've held jobs, whether or not you've managed to stay out of trouble," said Finholt, who added victim testimony is also taken into account.

He believes the Parole Commission largely handles publicity surrounding high-profile cases well, while he noted the general role of public feedback.

"What I will say is actually more important is whether or not there is really strong victim and community opposition. That can play an enormous role frankly, a role that in some cases outweighs all other considerations," said Finholt.

After the hearing, the advocates contacted Green, 49, who is serving a life sentence at Southern Correctional Institution in North Carolina. They told him about what Weeks had said.

The fact that the judge who "presided over my trial asked that I be paroled is significant," Green told ABC News in a phone interview from the prison. "It speaks volumes about this case, and I'm overwhelmingly grateful."

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The commission is expected to deliberate for at least one month on whether to grant Green parole, according to a spokesperson for the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction.

Weeks declined to comment, saying that he will wait for the commission to make its decision.

An attorney representing Green is handling a Motion for Appropriate release, a separate legal procedure. This is a post-conviction challenge to a conviction or sentence. An October 2023 motion on his behalf in Robeson Superior Court was denied, and an attorney is working to file an appeal to the North Carolina Court of Appeals, arguing that Green should have the right to present new evidence the jury did not hear.

Weeks had previously filed an affidavit expressing his concerns with the conviction; it is not clear if his remarks Tuesday involved new evidence or were a re-emphasis of his views on the case.

"On the one hand, they don't talk to the folks being considered very much at all. But people who have an interest in the parole decision, whether they are for or against, can schedule a time to speak with the Parole Commission at their offices or over the phone. You're generally given half an hour to sort of present, you know, your thoughts about the person's suitability for release," said Finholt.

A spokesperson for the Department of Corrections told ABC 11 that testimony provided to the Parole Commission is confidential, and it was unable to provide recordings or transcripts.

Green's Murder Trial

During the murder trial, prosecutors said Green, then 18, and Demery, his childhood friend, killed Jordan on July 23, 1993, during a robbery gone wrong.

Green told ABC News he was at a cookout with Demery. Demery told him that he was leaving to make a drug deal. Many hours later, Demery returned to the cookout, visibly shaken. According to Green, Demery asked him for help disposing of a body. Green said that he agreed to help Demery, but has maintained he never killed Jordan.

Authorities located Jordan's body less than two weeks later in a swamp in South Carolina, 60 miles away from his abandoned Lexus, in Robeson County, North Carolina.

In a letter to the commission, Green said, "Every day I live with the remorse and the pain and the suffering caused by my youthful decisions. I regret the harm my actions inflicted on the Jordan family."

On Tuesday, Weeks and criminal justice advocates, including Rev. Thomas Jones, pushed for Green's release.

"When I heard the judge speak on his behalf, I was weeping," Jones said. "I was flabbergasted."

The judge told the commission he had presided over many trials, Jones said, but "had never been haunted in such a manner as he was haunted by this case."