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Let's get into it:
The trial of Karmelo Anthony in the killing of Austin Metcalf began this week, with jury selection, opening arguments, and protests. Anthony stabbed Metcalf to death at a Memorial High School track meet in Frisco, Texas, on April 2, 2025. Metcalf, just 17 year old, bled out in the arms of his twin brother. That same twin accepted his brother's posthumously conferred degree this year at graduation.
Anthony pleaded not guilty to murder, but he's admitted to stabbing Metcalf, claiming he did it in self-defense. The only thing is that he provoked Metcalf before fatally stabbing him, saying "touch me, see what happens" after the two had words about some seats for the meet. Anthony wanted to be in the team tent, and Metcalf told him no.
Metcalf pushed Anthony. Anthony pulled out a knife and stabbed him in the chest. "I've been stabbed," Metcalf said, collapsing and falling down the bleacher steps and dying in his brother's arms.
Anthony tossed the knife and tried to blend into the crowd as his victim died. Prosecutors told the jury on Thursday "this young man, Karmelo Anthony... decided to take a knife to a high school track meet and provoke and go after another young man he didn't know, and plunged it into his chest, into his heart, causing his death."
Provoking and then attacking, that's not self-defense. A jury will have to decide. The jury that sat this week has been reported to be "all-white," but actually, according to Breanna Morello, it was just non-black. There are 5 non-white people on the 12 person, 6 alternate jury.
One potential juror was heard to say "I don't know if I feel right putting a brother in jail," while still another cited their religious beliefs as a reason they could not support capital punishment. Another said "He looks like a child. I can't send him to jail. He could learn from his mistake." These jurors were stricken from the jury pool.
Anthony has been on house arrest since he was taken into custody following the killing. His family has raised over $600,000 in a legal defense fund with a target of about $1.4 million. The funds are not just for his legal defense, but for the family's living expenses. "The funds raised will also support a range of urgent and necessary needs that have emerged as a result of this situation, including — but not limited to — the safe relocation of the Anthony family due to escalating threats to their safety and well-being, as well as basic living costs, transportation, counseling, and other security measures."
The trial is expected to take two weeks. Outside the courtroom, there are racial overtones to the protest by those who claim Anthony was acting in self-defense.
Family spokesperson Dominique Alexander said that the jury selection indicates that Anthony is "not receiving a fair trial." Alexander said that Anthony has been the subject of "racism" and "white supremacy." In a statement, he said "Today, during jury selection in the Karmelo Anthony trial, we witnessed a deeply troubling development. The prosecution used its final strikes to remove the remaining qualified black jurors from the jury pool."
Libby