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Tex McIver: Atlanta attorney who killed his wife could soon be released from prison

By FOX 5 Atlanta Digital Team
Published  February 5, 2024 7:53am EST
Atlanta
FOX 5 Atlanta
Tex McIver appears in a Fulton County courtroom in Oct. 2022 to ask for bond. The former metro Atlanta lawyer whose conviction in the shooting death of his wife was overturned last year by the Georgia Supreme Court has given up his law license. Filings with the Georgia Supreme Court show justices accepted Claud Lee "Tex" McIver III’s voluntary surrender. McIver was convicted in 2018 of felony murder and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony in the shooting death of his wife, Diane. The couple was on their way home from a party with a friend in 2016 when McIver shot his wife through the back seat of their SUV. She was rushed to the hospital where she died. There was never any dispute that McIver shot his wife — the question at trial was whether he meant to. Prosecutors said he was driven to kill her because he coveted his wife’s money. Defense attorneys said that was nonsense, that McIver loved his wife dearly and her death was a terrible accident. The Supreme Court reversed McIvers convictions because they say the trial court "erred in denying his request to charge the jury on a lesser involuntary manslaughter offense." During his trial, Tex McIver admitted to fatally shooting his wife but said it was an accident. He said that he had fallen asleep and the gun he was holding for protection accidentally went off. The McIvers were wealthy and well-connected. He was a partner at a prominent labor and employment law firm and served on the state election board. She was president of U.S. Enterprises Inc., the parent company of Corey Airport Services. McIver was found guilty of felony murder, aggravated assault, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, and influencing witnesses in connection with the death of his wife. He was sentenced to life in prison. While the high court overturned McIvers murder conviction, it upheld his conviction for influencing a witness. McIver was denied bond back in October 2022 and has remained in custody since. article

Tex McIver appears in a Fulton County courtroom in Oct. 2022 to ask for bond. (FOX 5)

ATLANTA - Claud "Tex" McIver, the once-prominent Atlanta attorney who fatally shot his wife in 2016 as they rode in an SUV, may soon be released from prison after taking a plea deal.

McIver, 81, had been convicted of felony murder and sentenced to life in prison in 2018 but that conviction was overturned in 2022 by Georgia’s highest court, which ruled that the jury should have had the option of a misdemeanor involuntary manslaughter charge.

On. Jan. 26, McIver also pleaded guilty to lesser charges of involuntary manslaughter, conduct and possession of a gun during the commission of a crime. He will receive credit for the time he’s already spent in custody. 

McIver apologized for the shooting of his wife, saying that he has never stopped wearing his wedding ring. 

"I want it to be very, very clear, Diane is the best friend I ever had," McIver said during the hearing. "She won my heart quickly. She’s again, was the best friend, best partner I could ever imagine. I will always, always love her in that regard. She died as a result of my actions, plain and simple. I stood up to that over and over again. I can’t remember a day where I didn’t cry for the first two years."

Tex McIver trial: Plea deal in wife's death

The prominent Atlanta attorney once convicted of murdering his wife, Diane McIver, has now pleaded guilty in the case rather than face a new trial. Tex McIver was facing a new trial after his 2018 conviction was reversed in 2022. What charges he pleaded to on Friday.

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney said he thought the plea deal was "a healthier and cleaner way" to resolve the case than a retrial, which could have resulted in a not guilty verdict.

He acknowledged that some of those who loved Diane McIver, 64, may be disappointed in how the case ended.

"Mr. McIver shouldn’t have had that loaded gun in his hand with his finger on the trigger," the judge said. "For those who seek purely punishment through this process, you’re going to be disappointed."

The former attorney's prison sentence ends in mid-2025, but McIver's attorney, Don Samuel, told CNN he could be released on parole at any time if the parole board approves the move.

If released, McIver will remain on probation at his home with a curfew and ankle monitor.

Death of Diane McIver

On the night of Sept. 25, 2016, Dani Jo Carter, a close friend of Diane McIver, was driving the couple’s Ford Expedition as the three returned from a weekend at the McIvers’ horse farm about 75 miles east of Atlanta. Diane McIver was in the front passenger seat and Tex McIver was in the back seat behind his wife.

With traffic heavy on the interstate, Carter took an exit into downtown Atlanta. McIver said, "Girls, I wish you hadn’t done this. This is a really bad area," and asked his wife to get his gun from the center console and hand it to him. A short while later, McIver fired the gun once, striking his wife in the back. Carter drove to a hospital where Diane McIver died.

Rich, successful and politically connected, the McIvers were considered an Atlanta power couple.

McIver was a partner at a national labor and employment law firm. Georgia’s high court accepted the surrender of McIver’s law license in April. He had been an attorney in Georgia since 1973.

Diane McIver had risen to the top of U.S. Enterprises Inc., after more than four decades with the real estate and advertising business founded by Billy Corey.

Corey was in court Friday to present a statement, which was read aloud on his behalf by an employee from the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office. In his statement, Corey said Diane McIver was an integral part of his business and that her death left a large void. He said her death "was no accident."

"One man, one hand and one bullet ended her life and caused a lifetime of misery and loss for so many others," Corey said. "There will never be another Diane McIver. Diane was full of life and she should never have been taken away from us in such a careless and malicious way. She is today missed as much as she was on that tragic day."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.