A prominent Atlanta lawyer who shot his wife as she sat in the front seat of an SUV in 2016 could be released from prison next year after agreeing to a plea deal on involuntary manslaughter charges.
Claud “Tex” McIver, 81, was sentenced to life in prison in 2018 for aggravated murder. In 2022, that conviction was overturned by Georgia's highest court, which ruled that the jury would have had the opportunity to bring an involuntary manslaughter charge.
The once-prominent Atlanta lawyer who fatally shot his wife as she rode in an SUV pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in January and was sentenced to eight years in prison as part of a plea deal.
Now McIver is “immediately eligible for parole,” attorney Amanda Clark Palmer told Fox News Digital.
“He will reach his maximum in the fall of 2025, meaning he must be released by that date,” Clark Palmer said in a statement. “With parole there is a possibility that he can be released sooner.”
Claud “Tex” McIver listens during closing arguments in a trial at the Fulton County Courthouse in Atlanta on April 17, 2018. The prominent Atlanta lawyer who shot his wife as she sat in the front seat of an SUV in 2016 could be released from prison next year after getting a plea deal on involuntary manslaughter charges
“In theory the parole board could decide to release him today, but in practice I believe it will take several months for them to reach a decision as Mr McIver is not the only inmate they are evaluating and considering for parole “Need to consider.”’ she added.
The Atlanta lawyer who claimed he “accidentally” fatally shot his wife from a car seat was convicted of murder in 2018.
The jury found the then 75-year-old guilty of shooting his 64-year-old wife Diane in September 2016.
The jury also found him guilty of influencing witnesses and possession of a weapon during the commission of a felony, as well as aggravated assault.
The murder conviction carried a life sentence, and it was up to the judge whether he would have the possibility of parole.
No one has disputed that he shot his wife in 2016, but the defense had said the shooting was an accident.
Defense attorneys said at trial that McIver loved his wife very much and the shooting was a tragic accident.
Prosecutors had alleged that McIver intentionally killed his wife because he was in financial distress and wanted her money.
The McIvers were wealthy and well-connected. He was a partner at a renowned labor law firm and a member of the state election committee.
She was president of US Enterprises Inc, the parent company of Corey Airport Services, where she worked for 43 years.
Dani Jo Carter, a close friend of Diane McIver, was driving the couple's Ford Expedition on the evening of September 25, 2016, as the three returned from a weekend at the McIvers' horse farm in Putnam County, about 75 miles east of Atlanta.
Friends of the two defendants, Claud “Tex” McIver and Diane McIver, argued in the gallery as the jury resumed deliberations in his murder trial Monday at the Fulton County Courthouse
Diane McIver was in the passenger seat and Tex McIver was in the back seat behind his wife.
Because there was heavy traffic on the highway, Carter exited the highway in downtown Atlanta. A short time later, McIver fired the gun, hitting his wife in the back.
Carter drove to Emory University Hospital, where Diane McIver died.
Both on their second marriage, the McIvers were both wealthy when they married and kept their finances separate.
However, with the recent loss of his interest in his law firm, Tex McIver's income had fallen dramatically and he was financially dependent on his wife.
Prosecutor Clint Rucker said in his closing argument in 2018 that McIver coveted his wife's money and would be better off with her dead than alive.
Defense attorney Bruce Harvey countered that the state's case was full of innuendo and unfulfilled promises, calling it an “accident in search of a motive.”
His co-counsel, Don Samuel, acknowledged that their client was far from perfect, but insisted that he loved his wife very much and it was illogical to assume that he would intentionally kill her.