He served as a Democratic member of both the Alabama Senate (1995 through 2009) and the Alabama House of Representatives (1987 through 1994), before being convicted of felony charges related to his political service.
[1] McClain vacated his senate seat on January 21, 2009, after being convicted in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama on 48 counts of theft, money laundering, mail fraud, bribery, conspiracy, and political corruption.
In conspiracy with Pastor Samuel L. Pettagrue, McClain stole over $150,000 of government grant money.
[4] While in prison on the federal charges, he was also found guilty on a related state charge, for which he was sentenced to one year to be served concurrently with the federal sentence.
[5] McClain died on November 9, 2020, at his home in Pleasant Grove, Alabama.