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.
ADDENDUM: The jury deliberated for three more hours, and gave Anthony a 35-year sentence for the crime.
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.
Sentencing next.
So far, we’re seeing justice as far as it’s allowed.
Death penalty is off the table, via age and lack of aggravating circumstances, so true natural justice will not occur.
Kate (6:35 pm) cites “the gang and violence mentality that is doing so much damage to many black communities and their surroundings.”
And guess who has spent literal decades glorifying and romanticizing that mentality? (Looking at you, show business denizens, and *many* left-leaners more generally.)
Kate continues, “This is NOT the mentality of my black neighbors and fellow church members.” Ditto here, Kate: very much so.
the gang and violence mentality that is doing so much damage to many black communities and their surroundings.
“Mentality” is not a thing that jumps out of the bushes and grabs unsuspecting people, black or otherwise, and takes over their will. It is freely chosen, and it is the individuals who choose it who are doing the damage, not the “mentality”.
According to the reporting I read, the family received over $600,000 in GoFundMe support, pretty quickly. And yet, I notice that the usual race-hustling experts avoided getting involved in this case. I didn’t see any of them even comment on it.
The subsequent reporting noted that the family moved into a large rental home in a gated community and bought a couple of new vehicles, one of them a black Escalade.
Is it racist to comment that these behaviors exemplify a certain set of values that does not represent the best things that most people aspire to, but instead communicate something more…. opportunistic? A disregard for consequences, a lack of thinking things through? Society didn’t fail Karmelo, his parents did.
I’ve seen some of the video clips of the spectators that have been on scene. Some really toxic words being thrown around, hoping to incite violence from the white side of the conversation. Black Panthers there today, toting their AR’s.
Nope, acculturation of violence is just the same as the acculturation in Church or Synagogue. Or for that matter by peers not parents. It is all a product of the individual not culture. (Sarc x 11)
Even a 17-year-old has free will and needn’t succumb to “mentality,” but I pity a 17-year-old who marinated in this garbage all his life, and I attach considerable blame to the people who shoved it in his eyes and ears while he was growing up. That includes family, neighbors, press, whoever participated.
Well, yeah, “mentality” didn’t stab Austin Metcalf; Karmelo Anthony did. But it’s very likely that he listened to the rap and watched the violent videos and heard talk about “white oppression.” And it’s also fairly unlikely that his mother took him to church and taught him about basic morality. There are kids raised in good homes who do bad things. I haven’t seen anything about Anthony’s family environment to convince me this was true for him.
I am way more than sick and tired of black racism and the Left’s acceptance of that fraud. Karmelo is a black POS. Period. The end.
Trayvon Martin could have been BHO’s son, remember Saint Trayvon? Killed by a white supremacist oppressor, George Zimmerman? (Sarc)
Kate
It is the culture. As significant percentage of black folk live ghetto culture. They might even have a suit and tie but they still live ghetto culture. Part of this is “I’m black gimme”, lack of of ability to not use violence, I’m black and can do no wrong and I’m black and cannot be racist.
I lived in the Chicago Near West Side for ten years seeing it up close.
The jury rejected “sudden passion” and gave Anthony 35 years in prison.
Everyone who thinks that there are preconditions is a problem.
Not a specific belief, if you’re going to engage in the hair splittiing.
Every single person that thinks Anthony had a “reason” to commit the attack is a problem. All of those people need to be hanged, or otherwise eliminated.
The world (and specifically, the United States of America) will be a better place once they are.
Prove me wrong.
The sentence is 35 years.
I suspect there’s less here than meets the eye.
==
He was enrolled at a suburban high school in a district where blacks account for about 10% of the student body. I don’t think this is a manifestation of ‘geto’, but rather an honor culture phenomenon exacerbated by racial resentments and the youth’s impetuous character. (Of course, you see that in the slums as well, just more frequently). The curio here is that he was alone and planted is ass on some other team’s territory.
==
When Trayvon Martin was killed, I was active on a site which was dominated by articulate progtwits but had a leaven of dissenters (who were eventually shoved out – the place now looks like a collecting pool of Democratic operatives and has few commenters). What got you after a while was their assumption that Martin had a franchise to beat up people who annoyed him because reasons, and if he beat you up you had to take it and by the way must be at fault in some way. I’m not caricaturing them. I suspect a residue of that is at work among the demonstrators outside the courthouse. ‘Self-defense’ is code for a blank check to teach a lesson to anyone ‘disrespecting’ him.
==
(Largely white) progtwits simply cannot stop playing status games and recognize everyone’s agency. Many blacks have the same shortcoming.
I don’t think triers of fact should be assigned to make decisions on scalar quantities.
Should have spent more money on the lawyer
==
He got a local attorney whose office is in Dallas. The man is 47 years old, a quondam public defender, practices solo, and limits his practice to criminal law. Quite unusual. Again, why a plea bargain was not concluded is the puzzle here.
Maybe I am missing something; but, has anyone even said why he had a knife at a track meet?
==
By some accounts, a small folding knife legal to carry under Texas law. Could have kept it to clean his fingernails.
Cleaning your fingernails doesn’t require a blade long enough to reach the heart.
By some accounts? Three inches?
Or is the convicted murderer a stealthy Sikh.
Kate–I don’t excuse Anthony, I just save some opprobrium for people who embrace awful cultures and immorality. Some of them are much more than 17 years old and have had time to get it more right.
He killed that young man, his excuse is pathetic, and he deserves prison. The people who cheered him on and are still cheering him on–for reasons that are racist dreck–may not deserve prison, but they deserve contempt.
Art Deco:
A knife under 5 inches is allowed by general Texas law, but having it on school grounds was prohibited by the school.
Art Deco:
There’s no valid report that a plea deal was ever offered. See this.
If it was never offered, I’d say it was because the prosecution knew they had a very strong case, and that it was a high profile crime featuring a vicious overreaction. On the other hand, if it was offered and rejected, I think Karmelo and the family may have believed their own rhetoric, or figured that if they got some sympathetic people (racially sympathetic or otherwise sympathetic) it would be a deadlocked jury.
Five inches?
Not sure about that “just beneath” part.
Stupid runs deep in that family.
LXE:
Prove you wrong? Sure.
Hanging people for ThoughtCrime always ends badly.
And the people who advocate it – like you – always think they’re righteous.
I added this addendum: The jury deliberated for three more hours, and gave Anthony a 35-year sentence for the crime.
I plan to write a post about that tomorrow.
White lives matter.
Way too many blacks don’t seem to get that. In fact they consider it racism. As we see in the reactions of some blacks to Anthony’s trial.
The ratio of black-on-white violence to white-on-black violence is almost unbelievably lopsided. All I can conclude is that blacks prone to violence feel justified in taking out their anger on whites in physical attacks, even lethal.
This must change.
White lives matter. Don’t settle for less.
In The Wanderings of an Elephant Hunter, W. D. M. Bell (1880-1954) wrote of a tribe or tribes he encountered in Africa. A rite of passage for males was to kill another person. Circumstances were unimportant; the victim could be male or female, stabbed in the back or while asleep was fine.
Having done this, the youth was considered a man, and could take a wife. I think he also got a commemorative tattoo on his leg.
Anthony had been suspended recently for carrying a knife.
Anthony was a captain on the football team and was on the track team.
Obviously athletic, would indicate Anthony was no sissy,
So, why did Anthony provoke an altercation and then not
punch the victim in the face and attempt to beat him down
like normal high school boys do every day?
Fact that Anthony continued to carry a knife after previously
being busted for it suggests he intended to use it on somebody, or was afraid of somebody.
Wonder if Anthony had recently lost a fight to a white guy and was
looking to recover respect from his peers.
Black you tube guy has interesting things to say, one of them is this situation does not benefit democrats, so there will be no MSM approved riots this time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8Iehv4xnRY
The Scorpion and the Frog is an animal fable that seems to have originated in Russia in the early 20th century. The fable teaches that vicious people cannot resist hurting others even when it is not in their own interests and therefore should never be trusted.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Scorpion_and_the_Frog
Neo: A knife under 5 inches is allowed by general Texas law …
The website below agrees with you. But, I would check city and county law and especially accepted practices, which vary widely, first.
https://knifeinformer.com/state-knife-laws/texas/
Always thought it was Aesop.
(Better check with AF…)
Re: Scorpion and Frog fable
I researched that twenty years ago. Back then all wiki would tell me was that Orson Welles used it in his film, “Mr. Arkadin,” and that Welles vaguely mentioned a foreign origin.
@ Barry – This is the closest analogy in Aesop’s Fables.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Farmer_and_the_Viper
The fable is the source of the idiom “to nourish a viper in one’s bosom”.
The characters are different, which is not really important; the morals seem similar, but are not the same.
The differences in the fables are characteristic of our current division regarding the social, political, and judicial characterizations of intent and action.
@ batemjo – Thanks for bringing up the fable, which I vaguely remember and also thought was probably from Aesop; however, it isn’t quite parallel, since nobody invited Anthony into the tent, and he didn’t ask for any kind of help.
In a wider context, though, you are correct: our society as a whole (primarily under Leftist/Democrat influence) has been tolerant of behavior that is ultimately fatal to both perpetrator and victim.
The Scorpion apologized to the Frog for stinging him, saying that was his nature and he couldn’t help it, and both of them died.
IOW both were good-hearted but foolish and it wasn’t anybody’s fault.
The Viper was deliberate in its actions, and did not suffer any consequences.
IOW the Farmer learned that “kindness to evil will be met by betrayal.”
It’s not unusual for fables, fairy tales, and proverbs to mutate in the service of different narratives.
NOTE:
Although that article mentions another Russian story with a similar cast, it does NOT cite the Scorpion and the Frog. I guess the Wiki editors didn’t read their colleagues’ research.