Tex McIver Gives Lengthy Speech before Sentencing, Never Says “Sorry”

May 24, 2018

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Tex McIver

Summary: In convicted murderer Tex McIver’s last chance to plead before the judge, he delivered a lengthy speech thanking everyone for their support but never taking responsibility for his actions.

Claud “Tex” McIver, an Atlanta, Georgia attorney convicted of murdering his wife, had 13-minutes to talk about what he wished before the court and audience before receiving a sentence from the judge. In what is usually a speech filled with “I’m sorry” or “I regret,” McIver took a different route, according to WBIR 10 News.

McIver used the time during the sentencing hearing to brag about himself and thank all his supporters, which he claims span several continents. “The outpouring of support has been beyond anything that we have expected,” he said. He specifically called out letters he received from “three people on three different continents,” including reading part of a letter from a woman in Ireland. He also noted his correspondence with a “race horse jockey” in Perth, Australia.

McIver also pointed out that he will greatly miss Chick-fil-A, “One of my huge, huge favorites and one of the things I miss the most I guess.”

The attorney did save time in his speech to thank his family “both blood and extended.” He said his sister had attended every day of the trial. He described drawings he had received from his grandchildren that depicted him as the hero. He gave a shout-out to everyone to watch his godson play in an all-star baseball game, for who he has dropped the Golden State Warriors name.

Near the end, McIver turned his attention to his wife, Diane. She was shot in the back while in the front seat of their SUV on September 25, 2016. McIver was sitting behind her in the backseat with a loaded handgun. During the trial, he claimed the gun went off by accident.

He called their relationship “amazing.” He said, “What many people could not possibly know, because it’s never been revealed and I’m going to give up the secret today. We felt so strongly about each other, we were together so much that we actually had a secret among us. And that was that we would be different places and we would look at each other and we would say sometimes even in unison is this truly real? Is this real? And if it was one of those, if it’s not real don’t pinch because this is the greatest dream that I’ve ever had and I don’t want to wake up.”

McIver claimed the couple had a “telepathic” connection, going into a lengthy explanation of their connection before the defense team coughed loudly and got him moving on to the next topic. He mentioned that “adjustments” or “corrections” had been given by his wife over his behavior but they were “delivered with love.” He claims to have no memory of a cross word between them.

The last topic McIver touched on in his speech was his time in jail. He said he had spent 263 nights in jail “by himself but not alone.” He elaborated, “[Diane] has joined me there as a presence, it’s hard to describe, but she’s left her earth suit.”

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney’s response to the speech: “I’ll tell you what’s most telling. You had as much time as you wanted to share with me what you thought was important for me to hear, and I guess your audience to hear. We heard about race horses in Australia, and telepathy, a brief psychoanalysis of the male ego and ghosts. I didn’t ever hear you say you’re sorry for what you did. To me, that silence speaks volumes.”

McBurney sentenced McIver to life in person with the possibility of parole. The charges that he was facing during the trial include malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. The jury found him guilty on three of the four charges.

Do you think it is more likely that McIver is being haunted by his wife or visited by her as an angel? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.

To learn more about the case against Tex McIver, read these articles:

Photo: atlantamagazine.com