Overview
- Horner’s lawyer filed a notice of appeal with the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals after a Tarrant County jury sentenced him to death for killing 7-year-old Athena Strand.
- The filing is a first step in Texas death cases and lists no supporting brief yet, which will follow after the court reporter completes the official trial record.
- The direct appeal will test for errors based only on the trial record, while separate habeas petitions can raise new claims such as ineffective counsel or new evidence.
- Jurors heard hours of penalty-phase evidence, including an hourlong audio recording from Horner’s delivery van and forensic testimony, before deciding on death after roughly two and a half hours of deliberation.
- If the state court upholds the sentence, Horner can seek review by the U.S. Supreme Court and pursue state and federal habeas relief, a process legal experts say can take years for the families involved.