Karmelo Anthony was sentenced to 35 years in prison on Tuesday for the fatal stabbing of Austin Metcalf at a track meet after the jury rejected a proposed “sudden passion” argument that could have significantly reduced his punishment.
The jury in Collin County, Texas, deliberated for about three hours earlier Monday afternoon before finding Anthony, 19, guilty of first-degree murder in the death of 17-year-old Metcalf. The panel then spent nearly another three hours deciding his lengthy sentence.
During the sentencing phase, the jury weighed the potential extenuating circumstances of “sudden passion” — crimes committed in the heat of the moment that, in Texas, can mean lighter sentences.
The jury wasn’t swayed by Anthony’s lawyers‘ “sudden passion” claim and sentenced him to 35 years. He faced a maximum of 99 years or life.
The “sudden passion” extenuation would’ve downgraded his verdict from first-degree to second-degree murder and shrunk his steep punishment to a maximum of 20 years.
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After the hearing, Anthony’s mother, Kala, and his brother blasted the killer’s conviction and sentence as “racist and biased” to cheering supporters who chanted, “Free Karmelo.”
Before the jury broke for deliberation, prosecutor Dewey Mitchell explained that the sentencing was about deciding the cost “of taking a life” in Collin County — one of the most conservative parts of Texas.
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One of Anthony’s lawyers, Mike Howard, insisted that considering the extenuating circumstance at hand wasn’t about blaming anyone at the track meet the day Metcalf was murdered.
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Anthony sobbed his way through the bulk of the “mini-trial” after the jury delivered his guilty verdict.
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Anthony’s sympathizers tried to make the case about race and painted Metcalf as a white bully. Their argument wasn’t helped by the process that selected the jury, which didn’t feature a single black person.
Witnesses who took the stand easily dispelled the antagonistic theories.
Metcalf’s teammates told the jury that the fight began when Metcalf asked Anthony, then a 17-year-old from Frisco Centennial High School, to move out from under the Memorial High School team’s tent.
Anthony refused to budge from the bleacher area where the rival teammates pitched their tent despite being asked roughly 15 times by Metcalf and others.
As the argument escalated, Anthony warned Metcalf, “Touch me and find out,” while dipping his hand into his backpack as if ready to grab something, witnesses recounted.
Metcalf eventually shoved Anthony, and the irate teen whipped a semi-serrated folding knife out of his bag, plunging it once into the victim’s chest, according to testimony.
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Anthony insisted he acted in self-defense but did not take the witness stand during the trial — a move experts say likely sealed his fate.
The post Sobbing Karmelo Anthony Learns His Fate for Murdering Austin Metcalf at Texas High School Track Meet appeared first on American Renaissance.
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