Two months after the Supreme Court of Georgia reversed his conviction in the shooting death of his wife, Claud “Tex” McIver will be back in Fulton County jail awaiting a new trial.
McIver received notice from the Fulton County District Attorney’s office that D.A. Fani Willis plans to try him again after the Supreme Court’s ruling, according to Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills, who is a close friend of McIver’s.
McIver was convicted by a Fulton County jury in April 2018 of malice murder, aggravated assault, firearm possession, and influencing a witness. A month later, he was sentenced to serve life in prison.
Tex and his wife, Diane, McIver had a farm, known as the “McIver Ranch” on Pea Ridge Road in Putnam County, and Diane also owned a condominium in the Buckhead area of Atlanta. They frequented the Putnam ranch and were active in the community, hosting events at the ranch and were regulars on a Lake Oconee golf course. Tex McIver, an attorney, also held a seat on the Putnam County Development Authority.
The evening of Sept. 25, 2016, the McIvers were traveling from their Putnam home to their Buckhead condo, accompanied by Diane’s close friend, Dani Jo Carter. As they traveled along Piedmont Road in Fulton County, Tex fired a handgun and struck Diane. He was holding the gun for protection because they felt they were in an unsafe area. Diane McIver died later that evening during surgery at Emory University Hospital. While going into surgery, she had told doctors the shooting was an accident, and Carter reportedly told the police it was “a horrible accident.” During his murder trial, McIver said he had fallen asleep when the handgun discharged.
Tex McIver filed an appeal that the Fulton County trial court erred in refusing his request to charge the jury on the lesser grade of involuntary manslaughter and in allowing the State to introduce allegedly inadmissible and prejudicial evidence and make improper comments during closing argument, according to the Supreme Court’s documents.
The Supreme Court concurred, and Georgia Supreme Court Justice Michael Boggs wrote in the Court’s conclusion that the lesser grade of involuntary manslaughter was authorized by law to give to jurors.
“We further conclude that the failure to give the charge was not harmless error,” Justice Boggs wrote. “We, therefore, reverse McIver’s convictions for felony murder and possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony.”
McIver, who currently is housed in the Long Unit of Smith State Prison in Ludowici, Georgia, received notice that he will be released to the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office Sept. 1, Sills said. The murder and assault convictions were overturned, but the firearm possession and witness tampering convictions were not. However, the five-year sentence for those convictions expires on Sept. 1, according to GDOC records, so McIver may have the opportunity to be released on probation until his next trial if the Fulton judicial authorities so choose, Sills said.
The McIver Ranch on Pea Ridge Road was sold at auction in August 2018. The house, other buildings and 80+ acres sold for $1 million, and the McIver’s furniture and hundreds of other personal items were sold or auctioned separately. The property has had a For Sale sign on it for a couple of years.
McIver, who is now 80 years old, is in good physical health considering his circumstances, Sills said.