One of the Men Who Was Convicted of Killing Michael Jordan's Dad Granted Parole

Larry Demery

Larry Demery, one of the men convicted of murdering Michael Jordan's father, is set to be released from prison in three years.

Demery was approved for release on August 6, 2023, by the North Carolina Post-Release Supervision and Parole Commission, pending his good behavior, WSOCTV reported. The commission did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.

Demery's parole was granted as part of the Mutual Agreement Parole Program (MAPP), "a scholastic and vocational program that is a three-way agreement between the Commission, the Division of Prisons and the offender," according to a letter obtained by WSOCTV.

Demery — who pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, armed robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery — was convicted along with Daniel Green in 1996 and sentenced to life in prison for the murder of James Jordan, Sr., PEOPLE previously reported.

Robert Mora/NBAE via Getty Images James Jordan, Sr., Michael Jordan

RELATED: Man Who Killed Michael Jordan's Father in 1993 Up for Parole

James Jordan Sr., the 56-year-old father of the NBA legend, was shot and killed while sleeping in his car at a highway rest stop in Robeson County, North Carolina in July 1993. His body was found 11 days later after being dumped off a bridge in South Carolina.

Green will not be eligible for parole until next year, WRAL.com reported.

In May, Michael opened up about his father's impact on his life, saying in The Last Dance docuseries that James was his "rock."

"We were very close," the Chicago Bulls star said. "He constantly gave me advice. I remember in ninth grade I got suspended three times in one year, and my father pulled me aside that summer and said: 'Look, you don't look like you're heading in the right direction. You know, if you want to go about doing all this mischievous stuff, you can forget sports.'"

Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.

Andrew D. Bernstein/Getty Images James Jordan, Sr., Michael Jordan

RELATED: Michael Jordan Reflects on Late Father James 27 Years After His Killing: 'He Was My Rock'

"That's all I needed to hear. From that point on, it was like tunnel vision and I never got in trouble from that point on," he added.

Michael, who was 30 at the time of James' death, also called his father the "voice of reason" who "always drove and challenged me" in the docuseries.

"One of the things that [my dad] always taught me is that you have to take a negative and turn it into a positive, so I started looking to the other side of it, and that helped me get through it," he said.

Michael told Oprah Winfrey in 1993 that he had no desire to know the reason his father was murdered.

“No, because I don’t want to know,” he told Winfrey when she asked if he would want to question Demery and Green about the meaning behind the crime. “Because it probably would hurt me even more just to know their reasons. Because if it is, it’s going to be totally meaningless for the reasons. It’s better that I don’t know.”