*Nearly 20 years after Daniel Green stood trial and was convicted of the murder of Michael Jordan’s father, new evidence has surfaced that could give way to a new trial.
The Sporting News cites an article from The Charlotte Observer, which reveals that the possibility of a new trial stems from claims of misleading testimony and misconduct by the prosecutor and jury in the murder trial of James Jordan. Green’s attorneys have long maintained that Green was not present when Jordan was fatally shot during a carjacking in 1993.
The lawyers claim that while Green was in a different location when James Jordan died, he did help get rid of the body and drive Jordan’s car. As a result, the lawyers say this makes Green an accessory after the crime, not a murderer. The attorneys further stated that Larry Demery is the one who shot Jordan. To get a lesser sentence, Demery pinned Jordan’s death on Green during the 1996 trial as part of a plea deal with prosecutors.
With the new evidence, the Sporting News states a North Carolina judge could decide as soon as next month whether it is enough to open the door for Green to receive a new trial. The following is a listing of the new evidence from Green’s attorneys:
— A sworn statement from a former jury forewoman that says she conducted her own investigation into Jordan’s death, a violation of a judge’s order.
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— An affidavit that appears to show that Jennifer Elwell, a state forensics expert, withdrew a statement that said she found Jordan’s blood in his car. Documents also say Elwell was ordered by a supervisor to destroy the only known sample of Jordan’s blood shortly after the trial, unbeknownst to Green’s defense attorneys at the time.
— An affidavit from a former newspaper editor who says Demery told her he killed Jordan after the victim witnessed a drug transaction. In her statement, the editor says she never told anyone of the confession.
— An allegation that Robeson County Sheriff Hubert Stone, whose office helped conduct the murder investigation, had an illegitimate son, a known cocaine dealer, who was the first person called on Jordan’s phone. The judge at Green’s trial did not allow jurors to hear about the relationship between Stone and the drug trafficker.
The new evidence comes amid several past appeals lawyers filed to the North Carolina attorney general’s office in Green’s defense. In 2015, under claims of uncovering new evidence in Jordan’s death, Green’s attorneys filed a 250-page request for a new trial. The effort ultimately fell short as each appeal was dismissed on the grounds the defense’s findings were mostly irrelevant and inadmissible.
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