Moment of Truth (2021–…): Season 1, Episode 4 - Chapter Four - Best Friends - full transcript

I've known Larry since third grade.

Like, he was my first real friend I made.

Larry and I met at Union Elementary,

the same school that had me and about
six other Black children integrated.

We met on a school playground.

We was fighting over something,

and the teacher,
her name was Miss Lanette.

She made us make up,
and she put us in a book club together,

where if you read
a certain amount of books,

you would get a certificate
from Pizza Hut,

and then you could take the certificate
and turn it in and get a pizza,



which I never, ever got my pizza,
but we always got our certificates,

and so that's how we met.

It was very unusual at that time
when Daniel and Larry were growing up

for an African American child
and a Native American child to be friends.

There was a lot of racial tension
in Robeson County,

and there wasn't a lot of mixing.

So the fact that Daniel and Larry
were friends was very unusual,

but neither of them cared.

Larry was one of the few people

that didn't pick on him
for the stuttering.

That meant a lot to Daniel.

He became very loyal to Larry
for that reason.

From Daniel's perspective,
Larry was one of the few people

that he really felt like
was a friend and not--



that he considered him
part of his family.

A battered and vandalized car

turns up on a deserted
Cumberland Country road...

The vehicle
belonged to Michael Jordan's dad.

The body,
located in Bennettsville, South Carolina,

has been positively identified
as the body of Mr. James Jordan.

The nationwide impact
of the alleged crime

hit home in rural Robeson County.

Because I don't wanna know.

- You don't?
- No.

Because then it probably
would hurt me even more.

Uh, let me explain
why-why you're scared

since you won't explain it right.

You're scared
because you're not tellin' us the truth.

Anything you want to say
to the Jordan family?

I didn't kill him.

We spoke to Demery's attorney
about how his client is feeling

about his role in the trial.

To be honest with you, I feel like
that he is anxious to go ahead

and get the process on.

It's been, what, two and a half years now.

He's ready to get up there
on the witness stand

to tell his version of the events
as they went down.

Demery detailed how he and Green

stalked the area
around Highway 74 and I-95.

Calmly laid out
how the two saw a shiny red Lexus

and decided to rob the driver
and steal the car.

Demery said the wounded
Mr. Jordan groaned and wiggled,

then forced out the words,
"Oh, baby, I'm sorry.'

Demery says he and Green then, quote,

"Simply stood there
and watched the man die."

I was sick.

I mean, physically sick.

And they took me
to the hospital, honestly,

'cause I couldn't...
I'm sitting there looking at him,

and you wanna say something.

You can't say anything and it's just,

you know, has your stomach in knots.

Green was treated
for stomach pains

and released from
Southeastern General Hospital.

Before the disruption
over the defendant's medical problem,

co-defendant Larry Demery
was continuing his testimony,

testimony that many feel is very damaging
to Daniel Green's defense.

The district attorney says
Demery's consistency

is helping the prosecution.

Each time he went to the jury box

and told the three different sections
of jurors the same thing.

He hadn't wavered,
hadn't made any mistake

in regard to what he's described.

It's interesting how
Larry Demery's story changed

as he went from his arrest
to being the chief witness

in Daniel Green's murder trial.

He continually got closer
to the murder as it occurred.

In his original version
when he was arrested,

he said that he was
not there at the time

that James Jordan was shot.

When he agreed to the plea deal
22 months later,

he said that he was running away
from James Jordan's Lexus

at the time the trigger was pulled.

When he got on the witness stand at trial,

he said that he was
right beside Daniel Green

when Daniel Green
reached inside the window

of James Jordan's red Lexus
and pulled the trigger and killed him.

So I'm sitting in the courtroom
watching him,

and I'm watching him lie,

you know, and some of the people
that's on the jury,

they're Lumbee Indians
that he's convincing.

He's talking, like, their language.

So I know that pretty much
they're gonna pull for him anyway,

right or wrong.

Like, my confidence,
whatever confidence I had is just gone.

I hate to always talk about race,

but in Robeson County,
race is kind of at the top.

You know, it just
kind of affects everything.

I don't think
you can ever discount the role

that race plays
in the criminal justice system.

And when you think back to 1993
when this crime happened,

we weren't having
the very in-depth critical conversations

that we are having today about race.

But I definitely think it was something

that was playing out beneath the surface
of the case the entire time.

Down here in Robeson County,
the racism is so pervasive.

I know a racist when I see one.
A person can't hide it.

It's a certain, like, a dead look.

Yeah, but see, Larry,
he wasn't viewed as Native American.

He was viewed as white.

He had white privilege.

Law enforcement uses
their relationship with media

to pick people
before they even have a chance.

I would say initially,
"Why are you handcuffing me?"

And they said, "Well,
that's just the way things is done,

it's always been done."

Well, I know that I was always handcuffed.

There's no doubt that Larry Demery

had some connections with law enforcement.

Larry was involved with the drug trade.

There was some belief
that maybe Larry was an informant.

We later learned that while
they were waiting to go to trial,

Larry got to go home on Sunday nights
and have dinner with his family.

I think there was a number of things
that struck me as unusual in this case,

but having someone who has been charged
with murdering someone

be able to go home to the family home
and have dinner is very unusual.

There's circumstantial evidence

that points directly at Daniel Green
as being the person

who committed this crime,
and now through the testimony

of Larry Demery, there is direct evidence,
eyewitness evidence

that Daniel Green
is the one who pulled the trigger

to kill James Jordan.

Could I had tried Daniel Green
without Larry Demery? Absolutely.

It would have been a totally
circumstantial evidence case,

but based upon the inferences
that could have been drawn,

I think the jury would have ended up
in the same place.

Larry Demery's testimony
is what the state had

to put Daniel Green away
for this crime.

There is so little physical evidence
in this crime

to say that what happened,
happened.

There were no witnesses
to the crime either,

and so what you have here

is Larry Demery serving as
the chief narrative teller to the jury

in Daniel Green's murder trial.

Did I know that Larry
was gonna get up there

and say that I killed this guy?

No, I didn't know that.

And for you to lie on me for a situation
that you brought me into

and for you to get up on the stand
and testify on me and lie on me,

yeah, that's the...
that's the worst thing in the world.

That's betrayal.

Now it's the defense's turn
to call witnesses.

Going to be able to present
substantial and believable

and indisputable evidence
that Daniel Green did not do this crime.

The direction the defense
is headed in is clear.

They admit Green helped dump a body
in a South Carolina swamp.

They admit he drove around
in James Jordan's Lexus,

and they also admit he had
some of Jordan's possessions.

But Green's attorneys say
the defendant simply wasn't there

the night Michael Jordan's father
was shot to death

along a Robeson County roadside.

The defense says Green
was trying to cover for Demery.

Larry Demery was in big trouble,

and Larry Demery was his lifelong friend.

That's the way I was raised.

We call it the code of silence.

I mean, police officers
follow the same exact code.

And we gonna protect each other.

Let's not act like this
is just, like, a code

that's coming from the streets.

I did exactly what I was taught to do.

I was taught to be a loyal friend.

That won't be the evidence.

The only way that evidence
gets in front of the jury

is for Daniel Green to take the stand
and say that.

That's what you're hoping for?

I'd like Daniel Green to take the stand.

The decision
on whether you testify or not

is one of the sacred rights
of the defendant.

There are some things
that are decided by defense counsel,

and there are some things that are saved
for the defendant themselves,

and the defendant gets to decide
whether they testify or not.

Are you gonna take the stand today?

I don't know.

- Do you want to?
- Do I want to?

- Yeah.
- Yeah, honestly, I do.

And Daniel really wanted to testify,

and his defense counsel
did not want him to testify.

They say Green's innocence is clear

because of their alibi witnesses,
the group of friends and relatives

who say Green was watching television
at the time of James Jordan's murder.

There were a number
of alibi witnesses

who testified to being there
the full time between 1:30 and 4:30,

which was the critical time point.

Sixteen-year-old Monica Hernandez

says Green never left her mother's home
during an all-night party,

the same night
Michael Jordan's father was murdered.

Daniel felt like he was manipulated.

What he really wanted to do
was get on the stand

and tell the jury what happened.

Because he was the only one
that could tell the jury what happened.

You know, it was just a regular day.

Me and Larry went to my godmother's house,
Kay Hernandez, to a cookout.

He wanted me to go with him to New York,
and I decided not to go.

The purpose for him going to New York

was he was supposed to take
a vehicle up there

that had drugs
stashed inside of the vehicle.

I was supposed to leave
with him that night to go on that trip.

And there was this girl.

I had seen her a couple of times before.

That was the first night

that we ever spent, you know,
in the same house.

And we ended up making out,
like, you know, three or four hours.

During that time, Larry kept trying
to get me to go with him.

I'm like, man, I didn't...
really I didn't want to go anyway.

When it was time to go,
I kind of put it off like,

"Man, I'm with this girl tonight."

So, you know,
I didn't leave with him.

About 4:30 in the morning,
4:30 to 5:30, he came back.

We at first thought that
the defense never found Bobbie Jo Morillo.

But after getting the defense files,
we now know that it was during

the time the defense
was putting on their defense

that the investigator
finally went and talked to her.

Who says, "Daniel Green
was with me in that time span

when Larry left," when we know
James Jordan was murdered.

And so Daniel
couldn't have been there.

You could tell
something had happened.

He was upset.

He was, um...
he had a bruise on his face.

kind of like he was anxious
and ready to go.

And at this point, the reason
that everybody remembers this

is because several people were sleeping,

including Daniel's mother,
including Kay Hernandez,

and they were awoken by the sound

of Larry returning to the house
and asking Daniel to go.

He was just like,
"Look, man, I need you to go with me."

I'm like, "Man, what the hell you doing?
It's four something in the morning."

And my mom heard us,
you know, and came in like,

"What's going on? Larry, what you doing?
I thought you had left."

I said, "Where are you going?"

Said something
about Larry had a flat tire,

he was gonna help him,
go help him change the tire.

"Mama, I'll be right back."

And I didn't want him to go.

I had a bad feeling about it,
but what do you say?

Uh, so we went outside
and we talked and we left.

And at the time that we left,
I didn't really know what was going on.

I thought he was still trying
to get me to go with him to New York.

You know, it's a very short ride.

Maybe six, seven minutes.

When we get there,
that's when we went to the car,

to the Lexus car.

Car was parked beside a store.

Picked up the Lexus
and then we got in the car

and drove for like a matter
of maybe 10, 15 yards.

I said, "Man, a body is on the ground."

You couldn't really see at all.

I didn't know who it was.

I didn't even know
that it was an elderly man.

Larry had a blanket inside of his car.

We just picked the body up,
put it on the quilt,

and I helped him put the body
inside of the car.

And then we got on the road.

Highway 74, he said he knew
a place where he worked at.

I didn't even realize
he worked in South Carolina.

To say that you're gonna sit here
weighing it out

and say, "Well, if I do this,
this is gonna happen."

Well, you know,
I'm really not thinking.

And you know, in a matter
of maybe 30 minutes,

we was, you know, at this...
at this place, a bridge, um...

where the creek was at,

and that's where
we disposed of the body at.

Even at high school, like, I never known
him to really get in a lot of fights.

He was trying to convince me
it was a guy that he met,

a guy that was selling drugs,
that was in the game,

and it's messed up
to think about it this way,

but in reality, like,
you know the rules

when you get into the game
selling drugs, crime, whatever.

This is what I've been saying since 1993.

I didn't kill anybody.

When I became involved
in this situation,

I didn't get involved for money,
didn't get involved to hurt anybody.

I got involved to try to protect a friend.

The prosecution
during closing argument commented

that Daniel didn't testify
on his own behalf.

You cannot do that.

That is a constitutional right
not to testify,

and you cannot comment to the jury

that that somehow indicates
you're hiding something

because you didn't testify.

Now, I did screw up,

but the day before,
they made personal attacks on me

that somehow I was unethical.

For the most part,
I'm a pretty cool customer,

but when you start
saying things like that,

and I've got to sit there
and listen to it repeatedly, repeatedly,

I got mad, I mean, I got pissed off.

I stood up, and it's on record.

I said, "Judge, I'm in a frame of mind."

The day before,
Johnson Britt said that

he was tired of playing by the rules.

He was gonna start playing dirty.

Same day that he said that,
when I went back to the jail,

I found out that
the Department of Social Services

took my sister's daughter.

That's something that has never happened
to our family before that I know of,

where the Department of Social Services
or anybody comes in and take a child,

and I'm thinking in my mind that it's
connected with what Johnson Britt said.

And I thought we was winning the case,

and my lawyer is like,
"Man, we winning, we good.

The only evidence
that they have is Larry,

and it's plain to see he's lying."

Johnson Britt
intentionally was saying that

to force the judge
to give us a mistrial

because he was losing the trial.

And Daniel's attorneys
did not advise Daniel

that if the prosecution had in fact
made that statement purposefully

to get a mistrial,
they would not be able to retry him.

You know, but understand
I did not interject myself into the trial,

and this is what's
just really weird to me

is that you have counsel
and your counsel make a motion,

and then the judge asked me,
"What do you think?"

You know, I'm not a lawyer.

You know what I'm saying? So it's not like
it was a tactical decision.

You've asked me a question.
I'm in the courtroom.

I told him, "No, sir, I don't want
a mistrial. I don't want one."

Was it a screw-up?
Yes, but it did not derail the case.

And that's Daniel Green's fault.

'Cause if Daniel Green had joined
in that motion for the mistrial,

there is no question in my mind
that a mistrial would have been declared.

You think the jury
has made up its mind already?

Daniel Greene appeared relaxed

as he arrived at
the Robeson County Courthouse.

He did not appear to be a man
whose life is on the line.

The evidence has been
presented to the jury.

Evidence is very strong.

It's not my opinion that counts,

it's what those 12 people
that decide this case.

Thanks. You may return
to your seat, ma'am.

And this may sound crazy,

but I'm thinking, like, I know
this ain't about to happen again,

like, this is not about
to happen again,

where I'm getting ready to get convicted
for something that I didn't do.

Fate doesn't throw dice that way.

The verdict coming down
moments ago here in Robeson County.

As you mentioned,
guilty on all three counts.

Guilty of first-degree murder,
guilty of armed robbery,

and guilty of conspiracy
to commit armed robbery.

The verdict came fast and furious.

We had to be wise in our decision,

and I think we took the time
to make the right decision.

When you have a huge trial like that,

four hours is a very short period
of time for deliberations.

I've seen a lot of even guilty verdicts
come back

after the jury goes home
for the day.

To me, four hours,
that's a quick verdict.

There's too much to say, it's really...

I don't think there was any one thing.

There was a lot of deliberation
going on that short time, a lot.

Did I think they would stay out that long?
I had hoped not.

I think ultimately they had two theories

that they could convict him
of first-degree murder.

That is premeditation
and first-degree felony murder.

First-degree felony murder was easy.

You find him guilty of the robbery,
someone dies.

That's first-degree murder.

Premeditation is a different animal.

And so I think much of what took place
in jury deliberation was,

was this a premeditated murder?

They ended up saying no to that theory,

but yes to the other theory.

So I was just shocked.

I just said, "Well, you know,
my mom is back there."

She's, you know, upset.

She's trying to hold it in.

So I said, "Okay,
well, I'm not gonna cry,"

and you know,
just keep my chin up.

Is there anything
that you want to say at this time

before the court
imposes sentence, sir?

Yes, sir.

I understand.
If you'll remain standing, please, sir.

Madam Clerk, in 93 CRS 15291,
the defendant

having been found guilty by a jury
of the charge of first-degree murder,

it is the judgment of the court
that the defendant be imprisoned

in the North Carolina
Department of Corrections

for a term of his natural life.

Tried to get the death penalty?

I have no comment.

Just glad it's over with.
It's been a long time. Going home.

The decision in, and this juror
wasted no time making his getaway.

That sentiment echoed
throughout Lumberton today.

Most people, ready for this proceeding
to come to an end,

glad they weren't on the jury.

I'd hate to be in that situation.

I don't want to have
another man's life in my hands.

His attorney said
they did their best.

I'm not any less of a belief

that these alibi witnesses
were telling the truth.

I'm not any less of a belief

that they have far more reliable
characters and backgrounds

than does Larry Demery.

I mean, nothing changes
except that the jury

who has the power to make
this decision has decided,

and as a practical matter
we must go forward on their decision.

We presented the evidence
the way it needed to be done,

and the jury responded
to that evidence.

This is the biggest case I ever tried.

Plain and simple.

Their verdict speaks the truth,

based upon the evidence
that was presented to them.

When they found him guilty?

Relief.

What about the verdict?

What about it?

Daniel Green left
the Robeson County Courthouse

a bitter man.

He said, quote,
"This is Robeson County.

What do you expect?"

Every day I went to court,
there was a Confederate soldier

in front of the courthouse.

At that time, they had
a Confederate flag,

you know, it's sandblasted now,

but you can still see the shadow of it.

Everything I kept hearing,

it's, like, that there was, like,
three different types of justice

for each racial group,

and that Black people
got the worst justice.

And in my mind,
I knew for a fact that these people

are the ones
controlling all the drugs anyway.

And these people
are killing people anyway.

That's the type of system
that exists here.

Everybody knows it's a corrupt system.

The jury already
had reasonable doubt

about Demery's testimony.

But they didn't hear all the facts.

The defense theory
that they were going to present

is this was a drug deal gone bad.

One of the first numbers called
in the car ties to Hubert Larry Deese.

Deese at the time was known to be
involved in drug trafficking,

and he and Larry Demery
worked at Crestline Mobile Homes.

That number doesn't get much attention.

It's kind of skipped over.

And the reason that's important
is Hubert Deese

is the son of Sheriff Hubert Stone.

Someone needs to stop Clearway Law.
Public shouldn't leave reviews for lawyers.