Was a prisoner falsely convicted for murdering Michael Jordan's father?
Two decades after the murder of James R. Jordan,聽the father of NBA star Michael Jordan,聽lawyers are seeking a new trial for one of the defendants, whom they say was falsely convicted.
Daniel Andre Green, now 40, was found guilty of the 1993 shooting death of Mr. Jordan聽at a聽North Carolina highway rest stop and sentenced to life in prison. However, in a 250-page request for a new trial that was delivered on Wednesday, his lawyers detail why the trial proceedings may have led to a false conviction.
Green鈥檚 trial was included in a 2010聽report as one of about 200 cases out of thousands that were mishandled by the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation over a 16-year period. Blood evidence was a major factor leading to Green鈥檚 conviction, as it supported the testimony of Larry Demery, Green鈥檚 co-defendant who earned a lesser sentence in exchange for testifying against Green.
The 2010 report, completed by a former FBI agent, found that in the 200 cases explored, information about blood evidence was by analysts, the Charlotte Observer reported.
鈥淭he blood evidence was critical to securing Mr. Green鈥檚 conviction because it was the only physical evidence supporting Larry Demery鈥檚 version of events,鈥� attorney Ian Mance said in a statement, according to the Observer.
Improved DNA testing and reevaluating mishandled evidence has resulted in multiple overturned cases in recent years. It raises the question of how often people are imprisoned for crimes they did not commit, and how the judicial system can prevent false convictions in the future.
The 1996 trial that led to Green鈥檚 life sentence depended on multiple witness testimonies of the murder. Prosecutors argued that Green was guilty of shooting Jordan in his Lexus on July 23, 1993 on U.S. 74 near Lumberton, N.C. Green has claimed his innocence since the trial, although attorneys acknowledged he drove Jordan鈥檚 car and helped dispose of the body, .
Demery, who was charged alongside Green for the murder, agreed to testify against Green as part of a plea deal for a lesser sentence with parole eligibility in 2016. But without the blood work, his testimony lacked physical evidence.
Jennifer Elwell, an analyst at the state crime lab, testified that blood was found on the seat of Jordan鈥檚 car. The Observer reported that when trial attorneys that may have countered the claim, they never received the results. Ms. Elwell鈥檚 work was called into question in the 2010 report, which alleged聽 that resulted in possible false convictions. She was suspended from case work upon the report's publication.
According to their website, works to exonerate wrongly convicted people through DNA testing and reforming the criminal justice system. Since 1989, there聽 Over 60 percent of those exonerated were African American, and the reassessment of DNA evidence has resulted in identifying 161 true suspects and/or perpetrators.
Paul Cates, the communications director of the Innocence Project, says that many false convictions are the result of either incompetence or deliberate misconduct by forensic scientists and practitioners. In cases where it may be deliberate, Mr. Cates says the problem can arise from the analysts working too closely with the police department requesting the work.
鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 serve anyone鈥檚 interest when an analyst misrepresents the evidence. When the wrong person is targeted, the real perpetrator goes free,鈥� Cates said in a phone interview with the Monitor. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 where there needs to be a safeguard from preventing the police from giving hints or suggestions to the analyst so they don鈥檛 know who the suspect is. There鈥檚 not a possibility of favoring one suspect over another or fabricating the results.鈥�
鈥淲hen you have an analyst where you see they have done either committed misconduct or are incompetent, the labs should go back and review their work," Cates added. "They have an obligation to do that.鈥�
The Observer reported that the Robeson County deputies may also be at fault for not conducting the investigation properly. The homicide deputies seized Jordan鈥檚 cellphone, but never questioned the son of then-Sheriff Hubert Stone, who was called from that number after Jordan鈥檚 death. Stone was friends with the lead investigator, as well as one of Demery鈥檚 co-workers, the defense attorneys said.
鈥淭he discovery of the call from Jordan鈥檚 car phone to a convicted drug trafficker with close ties to the sheriff鈥檚 department casts a whole new light on this case and ,鈥� Holmes said in a statement, according to The Observer.
