James Stainton spent years working to bring Tanner Horner to justice for abusing and killing a beloved child before callously discarding her remains in rural Texas on November 30, 2022.
On this episode, Stainton shares with The Trial: USA’s Kayla Brantley what it was like to shoulder the task of seeking justice for Athena Strand and her devastated family. He also discusses capital punishment and why, as he argued at trial, Horner's actions are why the death penalty exists.
Horner was sentenced to execution by lethal injection on May 5 after a five-week jury trial held to determine his fate. He’d previously pleaded guilty to murder and kidnapping the first-grader, who was abducted from her family’s sprawling property in Paradise, Texas.
Athena’s death devastated her family, friends and community. She inspired a law that enables law enforcement to employ quicker responses to missing children calls by issuing what has become known as an “Athena Alert.” Her family also started a charity in her honor in an effort to share the little girl’s legacy.
Athena’s Army: https://asarmy.com/