ATLANTA, GA — Claud "Tex" McIver, the high-profile Atlanta attorney convicted of murdering his wife, has been sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole , The Atlanta Journal Constitution reports. Diane McIver, 63, was killed Sept. 25, 2016 when McIver shot her in the back as the couple was driving near Piedmont Park in Midtown.

He has claimed that the accidentally shot her when he dozed off in their SUV with a gun in his lap. According to police, McIver was in the back seat of the SUV, while his wife was in the front passenger seat of the car. The couple was being driven by a family friend.

Tex McIver, who said he had the gun out because he was afraid of carjackers, was initially charged with felony involuntary manslaughter and misdemeanor reckless conduct. But a Fulton County grand jury indicted him on malice murder and six other charges in connection to the shooting.