ANOTHER CHANCE

Well-Connected Republican Lawyer Gets Conviction Tossed for Wife’s Murder

Tex McIver claimed he accidentally shot his wife after he pulled a gun out while approaching a Black Lives Matter protest in Atlanta.

Though he was convicted and given life in prison for murdering his wife Diane, former high-society Atlanta lawyer Claud “Tex” McIver is getting another chance. The Georgia Supreme Court granted him a new trial after finding the jury should’ve been able to consider a lesser charge of involuntary manslaughter. This was especially important, Justice Michael Boggs wrote, because evidence of McIver’s guilt “was not overwhelming or even strong.” McIver, who was heavily involved in the state Republican party, pulled out a gun as friends drove the McIvers through Atlanta in 2016 because he thought they had driven upon a Black Lives Matter protest, according to his testimony. He fired the fatal shot after being jolted awake in the car and brought Diane to a hospital rather than calling 911. Boggs said a jury should have been able to consider if the shooting was negligent. The court did, however, agree that McIver was fairly convicted for influencing a witness, for which he has almost served a five-year sentence.