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Georgia Supreme Court overturns former lawyer’s conviction in shooting death of his wife

ATLANTA — The Georgia Supreme Court overturned a former lawyer’s conviction in the shooting death of his wife.

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According to WSB-TV, Claud Lee “Tex” McIver III was convicted in 2018 of felony murder and possession of a firearm when his wife, Diane McIver was shot to death. The couple was heading back from an event with a friend in 2016 when McIver allegedly shot Diane through the back seat of their SUV. She was taken to a hospital where she later died from her injuries. Tex McIver is a former metro Atlanta lawyer, according to WSB-TV.

The Georgia Supreme Court overturned Tex McIver’s conviction on Thursday. According to WSB-TV the reason was that the court said that the jury should have been told that they could consider a lesser charge such as manslaughter. The court did however uphold his conviction for influencing a witness, said WSB-TV.

McIver during his trial claimed that Diane’s death was an accident and he had fallen asleep with the gun he had for protection accidentally went off. According to WSB-TV, McIver was sentenced to life in prison for felony murder plus five years for influencing a witness and an additional five years for gun crime.

The prosecutors argued that McIver killed his wife over money stating that McIver was in debt and needed more money coming in to keep up with his day-to-day life. However, the other side said the couple were in a loving relationship, according to WSB-TV.