CHARLOTTE, N.C. (FOX 46 CHARLOTTE) — The 1993 murder of James Jordan, father of Michael Jordan, is back in the news because of a soon-to-be-released documentary miniseries which will focus on the convicted triggerman, Daniel Green, rather than the victim or his superstar son.
Daniel Green has claimed innocence since his arrest, throughout his trial, and continuously over the decades. His efforts at appeal and post-conviction relief have repeatedly been denied but his lawyers are still trying. Their main claims are:
- Claim 1: Improperly admitted blood evidence at trial
- Claim 2: A phone call between James Jordan and a drug dealer that was never revealed to the defense
- Claim 3: Possibly corrupted evidence of a bullet hole on Mr. Jordan’s shirt
There’s also more recent evidence, arguably the most shocking. The co-defendant, Larry Demery, who testified against Green at trial in exchange for leniency has recanted his testimony.
Chris Mumma, Green’s attorney and the Executive Director of the North Carolina Center on Actual Innocence spoke to him and said, “I can tell you as someone who was at the prison with the codefendant, he did tell me that Daniel was not the shooter and that he was pressured to give information to law enforcement.”
Mumma also explained why all these evidentiary issues must be decided at a hearing, rather than through motions.
“There would be no question that there are many questions of fact in this case that could not be decided by their filings and our filings, it was going to take witness testimony to resolve.”
The Attorney General’s Office had no comment on this pending case and FOX 46 is still trying to reach Michael Jordan for his thoughts on Green’s claims of innocence.