A former Atlanta attorney previously convicted of murdering his wife could be released from prison next year after taking a plea deal on Jan. 26, according to his attorney.
Claud Lee “Tex” McIver III pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in exchange for an eight-year prison sentence — a drastic change from the life sentence he initially received in 2018 — and he is “immediately eligible for parole,” attorney Amanda Clark said. Palmer. Fox News Digital.
“He will ‘max out’ in the fall of 2025, meaning he must be released by that date,” Clark Palmer said in a statement. “Through parole, there is a possibility that he could be released earlier. In theory, the parole board could decide to release him today, but as a practical matter I believe it will take them several months to make a decision as Mr. McIver is not the only prisoner they have to evaluate and consider for parole.”
Clark Palmer added that “the conduct is one that all parties feel is a reasonable way to resolve the case at this point.”
Tex McIver was sentenced to eight years in prison on January 26 after he pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in connection with the 2016 CBS shooting death of his wife.
Fulton County (Georgia) Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney described the plea deal as a “healthier and cleaner way” to achieve justice than a retrial, adding that Diane was “a bright light that was extinguished,” the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
“Diane is the best friend I’ve ever had. He is the best partner I could ever imagine, and I will always, always love him,” McIver said in court on Jan. 26, according to the AJC. “He died as a result of my actions, plain and simple. I have worn my wedding ring since the day we got married, and I intend to wear it until the day I die. I hope we are at a point where we don’t judge each other and we can all move on. He is my angel, and he is waiting for me in heaven.”
“Mr. McIver should not have had that loaded gun in his hand with his finger on the trigger,” the judge said. “For those who seek punishment solely through this process, you will be disappointed.”
McIver was initially convicted in 2018 of felony murder and possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony in the 2016 slaying of his wife. AP
McIver was initially convicted in 2018 of felony murder and possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony in the 2016 shooting death of his wife, Diane McIver, which McIver said was an accident.
The Georgia Supreme Court overturned McIver’s earlier conviction in 2022 after he filed his appeal in 2020.
On the evening of September 25, 2016, McIver, Diane and Diane’s friend, “Dani Jo Carter, on her way home from a weekend at the McIvers’ property in Putnam County, drove to Diane’s condominium in the Buckhead area of Atlanta after stopping for dinner at Conyers’,” Chief wrote Chief Justice Michael Boggs in the Supreme Court decision at the time. Tex was in the back passenger seat, Diane was in the front passenger seat, and Carter was driving.
Tex fatally shot his wife in what he claimed was an accidental situation. AP
Due to a traffic jam in Atlanta, the trio took a detour and got off at the Edgewood Avenue exit.
“Girl, I hope you don’t do this. This is a very bad area,” McIver said before asking Diane to hand over her .38 caliber handgun, which was in a plastic bag in the center console.
While stopped at a traffic light later, Diane locked the door, and Carter testified that he heard a loud “boom.”
McIver had fired the gun, still in the plastic bag, and the bullet went through Diane’s seat and hit her in the back.
They drove to Emory University Hospital, where Carter and McIver told officers the shooting was an accident.
“Diane died during surgery from internal injuries to her spine, pancreas, kidneys, and abdomen,” Boggs wrote.
The Georgia Supreme Court overturned McIver’s earlier conviction in 2022 after he filed his appeal in 2020. AP
McIver and Diane have been married for 11 years, and they are both their second spouses.
Prosecutors argued that the defendant changed his story several times, saying the gun accidentally went off while he was sleeping and that the gun accidentally went off when they drove over a bump in the road. Additionally, a nurse testified that she was over McIver’s head saying, “I was cleaning my gun in the bathroom when I shot him.”
A firearms expert testified that the gun was in good condition and would not fire without the trigger being pulled. McIver’s defense argued that the trajectory of the bullet indicated the gun may have been in his lap when it was fired.
Prosecutors also allege that McIver was financially motivated to kill his wife, who had “frequently transferred money to McIver,” increasing her net worth from about $1.5 million to somewhere between $5.9 million and $6.9 million,” court records said.
In his appeal, the defendant argued that prosecutors implied he “harbored racial prejudice” against people in the area he was driving when he asked for his gun.
“He [i.e., McIver] worried because of the people around, the homeless, maybe they are carjackers. I don’t know who they all are. Maybe they were Black Lives Matter protesters,” said a witness during his 2018 trial.
Boggs warned “the State and the trial court to consider the impropriety of such arguments if there is a retrial” and described “some parts of the State’s closing argument” as “questionable.”
“We note in particular and with disapproval the prosecutor’s display of a PowerPoint slide with bullet points written ‘KKK’ during his closing argument. Asked at oral argument in this Court, the State ultimately conceded that no evidence was presented at trial to support any conclusion that the Ku Klux Klan was relevant to this case,” Boggs wrote.
The Georgia Supreme Court ultimately ruled that the state did not “abuse its discretion in admitting this evidence” in accusing McIver of harboring racial bias.
Categories: Trending
Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
