ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, February 28, 1996 TAG: 9602280097
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-6 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: LUMBERTON, N.C.
SOURCE: Associated Press
The key witness against the man accused of killing Michael Jordan's father is a liar trying to save his own skin, a defense lawyer told jurors Tuesday.
And based on physical evidence, the state failed to prove its case against Daniel Andre Green, defense lawyer Woodberry Bowen said.
``The state is putting forward things that cannot be true,'' Bowen said in closing arguments. District Attorney Johnson Britt planned to begin his arguments today.
Green, 21, is charged with first-degree murder, armed robbery and conspiracy in the July 23, 1993, shooting death of James R. Jordan.
Larry Demery, Green's boyhood pal, also was charged but changed his plea to guilty last year and testified that Green pulled the trigger.
Demery could still get the death penalty, as could Green, although Bowen said Demery has gotten 230 years of potential jail time on robberies and assaults consolidated into one 40-year term.
Bowen contended that investigators coerced Demery into implicating Green, and cited inconsistencies in Demery's stories between the time of his arrest and his testimony two weeks ago.
Demery initially said he was 60 feet from Jordan's parked car when the fatal shot was fired. In court, however, he said he was standing next to Green, about 2 feet from Jordan.
LENGTH: Short : 35 linesby CNB