Karmelo Anthony is found guilty of murder
It seemed extremely clear that “guilty of murder” should be the verdict. There was no defense offered except “after he provoked a dispute and refused to leave, for no particular reason he thought he was in danger of being killed and therefore killed another person.” Fortunately, the law doesn’t absolve you of murder by that sort of twisted reasoning.
But many of Anthony’s “supporters” do, because of racism, the perennial accusation:
Karmelo Anthony sobbed Tuesday as he was swiftly convicted of murder in the fatal stabbing of fellow high-school jock Austin Metcalf at a track meet — and his furious supporters raged, “This whole thing’s been racist!”
The jury in Collin County deliberated about three hours before finding Anthony, 19, guilty of first-degree murder in the death of the 17-year-old and must now decide whether to put him away for life — prompting the killer’s weeping mom to later take the witness stand and beg for mercy for her son, according to a report by NBC DFW.
“He’s my oldest. He’ll always be my baby. I love him very much,” Anthony’s mom Kala Hayes sobbed to jurors before they headed into further deliberations to decide his sentence.
As she spoke, Anthony also cried.
“I know my son, and he’s very sorry for what he did,” Hayes told the jury.
“Sorry” doesn’t cut it. That doesn’t mean this isn’t a tragedy all around. I don’t know enough about Anthony’s family to blame them for his behavior, and it’s certainly not the case that the family is always to blame. But in the end, he is guilty of stabbing another young man in the heart for no good reason on earth.
Anthony must pay the price. But what will the price be? It really depends; he was 17 when he killed Metcalf and perhaps the jury will be lenient for that reason. I doubt his lawyer’s summation helped him much, though. Then again, his lawyer’s task was tough, because this was pretty much an open and shut case in the legal sense:
“Austin Metcalf had no legal right to use force to eject Karmelo Anthony from that tent,” Anthony’s lawyer, Mike Howard, said during closing arguments at the Collin County trial — as Anthony looked on intently from the defense table.
“He had the right to ask him to leave, but he didn’t have any legal right to use force,” Howard said of Metcalf, according to a report by the Daily Mail. …
Howard said Anthony “had an absolute right to defend himself.”
What is Howard talking about? After Anthony was asked to leave 15 times and refused to do so, while insulting and cursing at the group and threatening them, Metcalf gave him a moderate push. That is legally irrelevant and does not justify murder. And this was no accidental act of Anthony’s, either – no case in which someone caused a chain of events that led to death. This was a knife plunged deep and with great force into Metcalf’s heart.
Or, as the prosecutor said:
You don’t get to meet a shove with a stab, especially if you provoke the shove …
No, you don’t. That is quite literally overkill. But Anthony’s lawyers really had no other way to approach his defense, since his act was basically indefensible.
The prosecution added this:
The prosecutor told the jury they should consider Anthony’s mindset rather than his motive.
“It’s mindset, mindset,” Wirskye said. “He took a knife to a track meet. He of course felt empowered that he was going to come out on top of any encounter.”
I have a hunch, though, that if it’s possible Anthony will get less than the maximum sentence. No matter what, he will be a hero to some people, but I don’t think their numbers will reach the level of the Luigi-lovers.
I think that he has felt entitled all his life. Now, he pays the piper. I also think that he will have a very hard time in prison, because of his attitude.
Do any of the defenders of him think of his victims Mother and Father? Doubtful, I mean they are White.
I will not say more, because I respect this blog
Maybe I am missing something; but, has anyone even said why he had a knife at a track meet?
He should be executed before noon tomorrow. Hanging, firing squad, overdose of fentanyl – whatever, give him the choice; my only hesitation of the necessary death penalty is use of the electric chair.
Should have spent more money on the lawyer (ben crump didnt jump at the chance) it was an open and shut case
The jury was not “all white,” contrary to some allegations. Karmelo appears to me to have succumbed to the gang and violence mentality that is doing so much damage to many black communities and their surroundings. This is NOT the mentality of my black neighbors and fellow church members.
Kate:
What are you referring to? I’ve read over and over that there were no black people on the jury. That doesn’t mean, for example, that there were no HIspanic people or no Asian people or no Indian people. Are you saying there were black people on the jury?
DougH:
Texas has the death penalty, but not for 17-year-old offenders. Plus, there have to be aggravating factors that don’t seem to be present in this case (for example, the murder of a police officer or firefighter, murder during the commission of another felony (kidnapping, burglary, robbery), serial murder, and the murder of a child under the age of six).
I didn’t mean your allegations, Neo, of course. The crowd outside has people telling TV reporters that this is a racist verdict by a white jury. Not true. The jury and six alternates included several Asian, Hispanic, and South Asian people. African-American potential jurors were struck because several said they’d have trouble sending a young guy to prison.
charles:
I don’t think there was any evidence introduced about why he had the knife, although perhaps I missed it. I think the defense didn’t go there because there’s no reason to have that knife that doesn’t implicate Anthony further.
Any bets on the chances of a civil wrongful death suit against Karmelo’s family? They sure seemed to enjoy that crowdfunded money they received.
The left is constantly looking for black martyrs and this kid fits the bill. Hence the protests and the now tired, cries of racism.