The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

GUILTY! GUILTY! GUILTY!

Posted on | June 9, 2026 | No Comments

Murder is still against the law in Texas:

A jury in Collin County, Texas, has found 19-year-old Karmelo Anthony guilty of murder in the 2025 stabbing death of 17-year-old Austin Metcalf.
Anthony stabbed Metcalf in the Frisco Memorial tent at a regional track meet in Frisco, Texas. Anthony, a former student at Frisco Centennial, took shelter in the tent during a rainy portion of the day. Frisco Memorial athletes, including Metcalf, told him to leave the tent “roughly 15 times,” according to witnesses.
One 17-year-old student-athlete who went to Frisco Memorial with Metcalf told the court that Anthony, 19, did not act in self-defense. He kept his hands in his backpack until Metcalf shoved him, and then he responded by stabbing the teen in the chest.
“That’s lethal force against non-lethal,” the witness explained.
One of the key parts of Anthony’s defense is the claim that Austin and his brother Hunter ganged up on Anthony, forcing him to take the knife out of his bag to defend himself.
However, multiple witnesses testified that he never saw Austin or his brother gang up on Anthony.
Anthony’s lawyers pursued a self-defense case on behalf of their client. However, the jury ultimately found that defense unconvincing. Race played a role in the case. Anthony is black, and Metcalf is white.
Two factors did tremendous damage to Anthony’s self-defense case: First, Anthony did not take the stand in his own defense. A curious decision by his lawyers, given that an attempt to draw sympathy from the jury could have aided greatly in getting the charges reduced to manslaughter. Second, the majority of the prosecution’s witnesses – all of whom laid the blame for the incident on Anthony – were black.
Anthony’s self-defense case was dealt another blow Monday when it was revealed that even one of the defense’s witnesses said Anthony caused the incident.

Was this a hate crime? That’s what a lot of commentary on this case has really been about. The circumstances surrounding the case make it seem as if Karmelo Anthony deliberately provoked a confrontation because he just wanted an excuse to kill a white guy. What we don’t have is any clear indication of what would have caused Anthony to choose this track meet as his opportunity to commit murder (whatever his motive) nor do we know why Austin Metcalf was targeted. Nothing about Karmelo Anthony’s behavior makes sense, in a rational or objective way, and until we have some further information, we can only speculate about his motive. Similarly inexplicable is why the killer decided to go to trial, rather than trying to get a plea bargain. His self-defense claim was implausible, and even the defense witnesses couldn’t justify such a claim.



 

Category: Crime, Racism, Texas

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