Bonus: “Larry Demery’s Parole Revoked”
AMANDA: Hi, Amanda Lamb here. We have a major update in the case and wanted to get it to you as soon as possible, while we’re working on the next full episode.
This is a very big deal. North Carolina’s parole commission has rescinded Larry Demery’s parole – the same group that denied Daniel Green’s bid for freedom on his first go-around has taken away Larry’s scheduled release date. Let me be clear, this happens on occasion, but it’s very RARE. And while the state did confirm to us that they terminated Larry’s parole, by law they can’t tell us why.
Let’s rewind for a minute…we’ve talked a lot about why Larry was eligible for parole consideration many years before Daniel was. Remember, Larry made a deal with the state—he would testify against Daniel in return for getting a break on some additional charges he was facing in separate cases unrelated to James Jordan’s murder. He applied for parole 3 times, every three years since the day he became eligible. He was denied each time. But in August of 2020, Larry was finally given the green light…and a date for his release. He was accepted into the state’s MAPP program. This stands for the Mutual Agreement Parole Program. Basically, he had to take some classes to prepare him for life in the outside world and stay out of trouble on the inside. If he did these things, he would be released in 2023.
But Larry didn’t stay out of trouble. 8 months later – in April of 2021– he got charged with 2 infractions, one for having contraband and one for substance possession. His parole was pushed out another year, to 2024.
Again, by law, the reason for the change in the date is confidential according to the state. Was it because of these new infractions? Or was it something else? The timing is a little curious. April 2021 is also when the docu-series Moment of Truth — about this case — streamed across the world. That series and this podcast have questioned Larry Demery’s role in James Jordan’s murder a nd the validity of his testimony against Daniel Green. We’ll just leave this right here.
So…back to the timeline, Larry was granted parole, then it was delayed. All he had to do was stay out of trouble. And he would have been a free man in 2024.
So, you would think with another year of freedom taken away from him, and his parole hanging in a delicate balance, Larry would have stayed out of trouble this time, for good. But he didn’t. According to the state’s Department of Public Safety he got 2 more infractions for substance possession just 7 months later. Less than a month after getting into trouble again, the parole board announced it was revoking Larry’s parole date. Just like that, his chance for freedom evaporated.
Now what happens? The state tells us Larry can re-apply for parole in August of 2022, but they will take into consideration his infractions and the fact that he received them while he was working towards a set parole date. It’s hard to imagine that they would turn around and grant him parole again so soon after he didn’t comply with the standards for release the first time.
Daniel Green tells me he isn’t surprised by this turn of events. He believes Larry’s problems began with drugs…and decades after James Jordan’s murder, Daniel believes drugs are still Larry’s main problem.
On our next full episode… the NEW, unexpected turn of events for Larry’s co-defendant Daniel Green – a new court decision is the latest big bombshell in this case and it’s giving Daniel new hope. Be sure to follow the podcast so you’ll know when episode 12 is released.
Thanks for listening to Follow the Truth, a production of WRAL Studios, part of the Capitol Broadcasting Podcast Network.