Defense Lawyers: Autistic Suspect in Strangling of 7-Year-Old Athena Strand Should Not Face Death Penalty

The defense team for the FedEx driver accused of murdering a seven-year-old Texas girl claim the suspect has autism and should therefore not face the death penalty.

Tanner Horner is accused of kidnapping and strangling Athena Strand at her Wise County home in late 2022, Fox 4 reported Wednesday, noting Horner’s lawyers filed 28 motions regarding the case.

One of those motions seeks to preclude the death penalty due to the man’s reported autism. The Fox article continued:

The motion states that the court has “categorically prohibited the imposition of the death penalty where a particular characteristic of the defendant renders him less culpable, negates the retributive and deterrent aims of capital punishment, or creates a risk of an erroneous death sentence.”

It goes on to