GA Supreme Court Overturns Tex McIver's Murder Conviction

ATLANTA, GA — The Georgia Supreme Court overturned the murder conviction Thursday of the high-profile former Atlanta lawyer, Claud “Tex” McIver, who had been convicted of his wife’s murder.

McIver was convicted of felony murder and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony in the shooting death of his wife, Diane McIver in 2018. The McIvers were driving home from a party with a friend in 2016 when Claud was accused of shooting his wife from the back seat of their vehicle. She died at the hospital from her injuries.

Justice Michael Boggs, writing for the court, said the involuntary manslaughter charge “was authorized by law and some evidence supported the giving of the charge.”

Diane McIver served as president of Corey Airport Services, an Atlanta-based marketing company whose logo adorns a smokestack-like structure on the downtown connector. Her husband was an attorney with Fisher & Phillips.

The shooting incident happened Sept. 25, 2016. The couple were heading home to Atlanta from their property in Putnam County, according to court documents. Their friend Dani Jo Carter was driving. McIver asked for his .38-caliber revolver because he thought they were approaching a Black Lives Matter protest, according to the cited testimony in the document.

As they approached a traffic light on Piedmont Avenue, Diane told her husband to not fall asleep. Shortly after, the gun was fired and a bullet went through the front seat and into Diane’s back.

Instead of calling 911, McIver told Carter to drive to Emory University Hospital, where Diane died during surgery.

McIver told police the incident was a mistake and that he fell asleep while holding the gun, according to the court documents. Prosecutors argued that McIver had a financial motive to kill his wife.

The Supreme Court reversed Tex McIver’s convictions because the trial court “erred in denying his request to charge the jury on a lesser involuntary manslaughter offense.”