Disgraced Atlanta attorney Claud “Tex” McIver was given a parolable life sentence Wednesday for the 2016 murder of his wife, Diane, ensuring that—absent a successful appeal—the 75-year-old former Fisher & Phillips partner will likely die in prison for a crime he’s always insisted was an accident.

Georgia law dictated McIver’s life sentence, foreclosing any discretion by Fulton County Superior Court Chief Judge Robert McBurney, except on the question of whether McIver could be eligible for parole. McBurney agreed with the recommendation of Assistant District Attorney Clint Rucker that McIver serve a parolable life sentence rather than life without parole.