Tanner Horner Was Sentenced to Death by Lethal Injection — Here's What Happens Next

On Dec. 2, 2022, Tanner Horner was arrested for the abduction and murder of 7-year-old Athena Strand. It wasn't until April 2026 that Horner pleaded guilty and was later sentenced. A jury deliberated for less than three hours before it returned with the sentence, per CBS News. Now, people want to know when Tanner Horner will be executed.

Horner's defense argued mental health struggles and asked that he be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. In the end, however, he was sentenced to death by lethal injection. Texas is among the 27 states that still uphold the death penalty. Texas reportedly uses lethal injection exclusively as its main method of execution.

Although Horner pleaded guilty and was sentenced to be executed, the case isn't over. As of May 2026, there has not been an execution date announced by Texas authorities. It's possible that his actual execution could come years after the conviction. And, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, an automatic appeal system means the sentencing will be tried by the defense for an appeal at least once. For now, Horner remains on death row.

Until Horner's sentencing, he was being held at a county jail. Afterward, he was to be transferred to death row at a prison that is part of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported that, during the sentencing, Judge George Gallagher explained to Horner his planned execution by lethal injection.

'Until some future date to be determined later, upon which day, at some hour after 6 p.m., in a room arranged for the purpose of execution, the said director, acting by and through the executioner designated by said director as provided by law, is hereby commanded, ordered and directed to carry out this sentence of death by intravenous injection of a substance or substances in a lethal quantity sufficient to cause your death and until you are dead," the judge said.

During the trial, which lasted around three weeks, the jury heard testimonies from Horner's family regarding his mental health. They also heard from the victim, Strand's, family. In one statement from Strand's uncle, he directed his words to Horner and told him he is "nothing" and would be a "forgotten footnote" in Strand's story of her life.

Because of the nature of Horner's crimes, and the fact that they were against a child, there might be questions about whether or not he is going to be kept in a private cell away from the general population of the prison and out of reach of other prisoners. According to NBC Dallas-Fort Worth, in general, prisoners on death row in Texas are kept in solitary confinement.

Per the outlet, death row inmates are confined to their own individual cells that are around 60 square feet, with a thin mattress on a bed, a stainless steel toilet about a foot away from the bed, and a small window. It's not clear yet which prison Horner was sent to, but he might be put in a similar cell while he awaits his execution, even if it takes years.