GUILTY TN - Amanda Lane, 22, dies of head trauma suffered as infant, 30 Aug 2013

A Tennessee man convicted and jailed for abusing his two infant children is charged with murder -- 23 years later.Anthony Shannon Lane was convicted in 1992 of beating his 5-week-old daughter Amanda so badly she lived the rest of her life in bed: blind and unable to talk or move, except for seizures, said her mother, Nancy Woodall-Holmes, who first fostered and then adopted Amanda.
Amanda died last year at age 22 and on Monday, Lane, 41, was charged with first-degree murder in Amanda's death.

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Lane was convicted of aggravated child abuse of Amanda in 1992 and sentenced to 10 years in prison. After his release, he was charged and convicted of aggravated child abuse of a second child, her half-brother Ryan. He is serving a 25-year sentence on the second conviction at Hardeman County Correctional Facility.

Sgt. Goodwin and Detective Kohler charged Lane, 41, with first-degree murder in Amanda’s death Monday..

Amanda’s case was originally investigated in 1991 by Sheriff’s Detectives Chuck Thomas and J.D. Driver, resulting in the conviction of Lane and Amanda’s biological mother, Stephanie Pinson, who was convicted for accessory after the fact of child abuse. She was sentenced to two years in jail.

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Upon his release from jail in his daughter's case, Lane had another child, a son named Ryan, whom he also abused.
That boy was also left with devastating disabilities, including blindness, epilepsy and cerebral palsy, according to reports.

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According to an autopsy by the state medical examiner's office, Amanda's death was a homicide, caused by complications of blunt force head injury...

Woodall-Holmes said the murder charges against Lane, even 23 years later, will have an affect on victims of abuse.

"It may take 23 years but justice will be served. That's the message I want to get out there."

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Rutherford County foster parent Nancy Woodall-Holmes, of LaVergne, began caring for Amanda when she was 3 months old, according to the news release...

Lane-Woodall required daily injections for diabetes, and she also suffered seizures and had cerebral palsy, according to the report.

"The only movement she had was her seizures," Woodall-Holmes said. "She stayed in the same bed for 22 years."...

"I want Amanda's death to mean something," she said in the news release. "I want her life to mean something. ... Amanda had a life sentence. Her brother had a life sentence. Her death ended in a death sentence. I don't think we should accept anything less than that for [Lane.]"

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Amanda Lane Woodall was only 5 weeks old when her father violently beat her, leaving her critically injured until she died at age 22 in 2013.

Twenty-six years after beating his infant daughter, leaving her bedridden and fragile until her 2013 death, Anthony Shannon Lane pleaded guilty to second-degree murder.

Initially charged with first-degree murder in 2014, Lane, 46, entered the plea Friday before Circuit Court Judge David Bragg and will serve a 20-year sentence concurrent with time for a similar case in which he was convicted of severely abusing his son in Wilson County.

"My sweet Amanda's voice was taken away from her 26 years ago. Today her voice has been heard," said Nancy Woodall, her foster and adoptive mother. She took the child in when Amanda was only 3 months old and critically injured.

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Newman called Lane's plea significant because he is being held "accountable" for what happened more than a quarter-century ago. The assistant district attorney also said he considers it "amazing" that Woodall was able to care for someone with such disabilities.

"I think Amanda Lane Woodall represents innocence. Anthony Shannon represents ... evil. And I think that Nancy Woodall represents good, and I just hope that good will always overcome evil," Newman said.

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