ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, March 13, 1996 TAG: 9603130074
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-4 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: LUMBERTON, N.C.
SOURCE: Associated Press
A jury chose life in prison instead of the death penalty Tuesday for the man who killed Michael Jordan's father and paraded around town in the dead man's car.
Following the jury's recommendation, a judge sentenced Daniel Green, 21, to life in prison for murder during the commission of a robbery and 10 years for conspiracy to commit robbery. The sentences must be served consecutively.
Green was convicted Feb. 29 in the slaying of James Jordan, who was shot as he napped in his car along a highway July 23, 1993.
Green claimed witnesses lied, and called the judicial process ``about as sacred as the red-light district in New Orleans.''
``I know it may seem cliche, but I did not kill Mr. Jordan, I did not rob Mr. Jordan,'' Green told jurors after they were polled to make certain their verdict was unanimous.
Green had been asked several times throughout the trial if he wanted to testify on his own behalf. He declined each time, saying he wanted to testify but his attorneys advised against it.
The panel decided to spare Green the death penalty because some jurors believed Larry Demery, who pleaded guilty and testified for the government, may have been the triggerman, not Green, juror Angela Coverdale said.
``I just hopes he's not out in 10 or 20 years. I just hope he spends the rest of his life in prison,'' Coverdale said.
It's not clear how much time Green will spend behind bars, District Attorney Johnson Britt said. He must serve at least 20 years, then serve part of his conspiracy sentence, before being eligible for parole.
Jurors began their deliberations in the case at 11:07 a.m. Tuesday and took two breaks before returning with the verdict about 4:30 p.m.
``This mother's child, we ask that you let him live,'' defense attorney Angus Thompson had told the jurors Tuesday.
A day earlier, defense attorney Woodberry Bowen quoted the Bible six times as he urged the six-man, six-woman jury to spare Green from death.
Bowen, who teaches Sunday school at his Presbyterian church, said: ``These murderers in the Bible were not destroyed. They were not stoned. They were not hanged. They were not beheaded. They were punished.''
The prosecutor called Green a cold-blooded killer who shot Jordan as the man awoke from a roadside nap, just to steal his Lexus.
``It was primarily that car that was the object of his affection,'' Britt said Monday. ``Simply to have a piece of metal that runs on four wheels and goes fast.''
Witnesses testified that Green and Demery, 20, drove around in Jordan's red Lexus for four days after the slaying, picking up dates and calling friends and relatives on the dead man's cellular phone.
Green also made a video of himself dancing and rapping while wearing Jordan's jewelry - a watch and two NBA rings given to him by his athlete son.
Demery, 20, was the prosecution's star witness. He pleaded guilty to murder before testifying against Green and also could get the death penalty.
LENGTH: Medium: 61 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: (headshot) Green.by CNB