One of two men convicted of killing Michael Jordan's father is expected to be released from prison in three years, state officials said Tuesday. Larry M. Demery, 44, was granted a 2023 parole date by North Carolina's Post-Release Supervision and Parole Commission.
"Under the agreement, the offender's parole release date is 8/6/2023," the state announced in a press release.
The parole was granted through a "three-way agreement" between Demery, a scholastic and vocational program run by the state and the Division of Prisons. A spokesman with the North Carolina Department of Public Safety told The Associated Press that Demery will receive help to prepare for life after prison.
James Jordan was fatally shot on July 23, 1993, as he slept inside his car along a highway in North Carolina. Demery was sentenced to life in prison in 1996 after he pleaded guilty to first-degree in the killing of the 56-year-old.
Larry Demery and Daniel Green leave a courthouse in Lumberton, North Carolina, on Tuesday, October 5, 1993.
Jim Bounds / AP
During his trial, Demery identified the shooter as Daniel Green, who was also convicted in the murder. CBS affiliate WFMY-TV of North Carolina noted that both men have accused each other of pulling the trigger in the years following the shooting. Green continues to maintain his innocence.
Both men were 18 at the time of the crime. Prosecutors had said the motive for the shooting was robbery.
A spokesperson for Michael Jordan declined comment to the AP on Tuesday.
Michael Jordan, his father James and mother Doloris seen in Chicago, Illinois, on Friday, February 17, 1989.
Charles Bennett / AP