Karmelo Anthony, a young Black man, is headed to prison at the ripe age of 19. So, what was Karmelo’s crime? And why has the system deemed fit to erase his adult life with a brutal prison sentence?
In April 2025, then-17-year-old Karmelo participated in a track meet in Frisco, Texas, a suburb of Dallas. It started to rain during the meet, so young Karmelo walked under a pop-up tent where he was met with immediate hostility. Upon entry into a rival team’s tent, he was confronted by Austin Metcalf and his twin brother. Karmelo was told to move out of Metcalf’s team tent, as the two parties were on rival teams. The twins assaulted Karmelo, while others looked on. Karmelo allegedly stabbed Austin with a Walmart multi-tool with a serrated blade after the altercation escalated. And we have to be honest. This is Texas. The Metcalf twins are white, and as mentioned previously, Karmelo is Black.
Karmelo didn’t swing first. He defended himself and did not flee the scene. He walked directly to the nearest police officer and told the truth unprompted. Anthony’s first concern was the health of the young man he stabbed in self-defense, Austin Metcalf. He asked if Metcalf would be okay. Karmelo Anthony did not resist arrest and admitted that he committed the stabbing. However, he insists that the stabbing was in self-defense.
The case has been met with polarizing outrage. From the moment the story broke, it was sensationalized by the media. There were calls from the far-right, demanding that an example be made out of Anthony. Since the story’s explosion, Karmelo’s family has faced constant harassment and threats.
Under Texas Penal Code § 9.32, an individual is justified in the use of deadly force if that individual reasonably believes the use of deadly force is immediately necessary to prevent another’s unlawful deadly force. At first glance, a stabbing in response to the actions of the Metcalf twins may seem unreasonable; however, we have to look deeper. Texas, as with many states in this country, carries with it a long history of brutal anti-Black racism.
Between the years 1885 and 1942, Texas saw almost 500 lynchings of Black, Latine, and Jewish workers, including the infamous 1916 lynching of Black youth Jesse Washington. In 1916, Washington was brutally murdered at the hands of a racist lynch mob based on a false accusation of raping a white woman. At the time of his death, Washington was Karmelo’s age, 17. Texas is also the state of Sandra Bland and Garrett Foster. Bland was killed in Waller County jail in 2015 after a Texas state trooper arrested her over a turn signal. Foster, a young white man, was murdered by a right-wing agitator in 2020 while protecting his disabled Black partner.
This is the historical context in which Karmelo Anthony exists. So, when he faced two violent white teenagers advancing on him with physicality, his response of defending his own life was reasonable.
Karmelo was acting in self-defense, and he was also a minor at the time of the incident. However, despite the circumstances, Anthony was not given the benefit of the doubt. The adultification of Black boys is a form of racialized dehumanization where Black youth are perceived as older, less innocent, and more culpable than their white peers.
There is no doubt that self-defense standards vary to some degree from state to state. With that said, the vast majority of U.S. states adhere to a basic standard of self-defense. Under that core standard, a defendant is not guilty of murder if that individual reasonably believed they faced deadly force and applied equal deadly force. This standard applies in Texas, Florida, Maryland, Wisconsin, and many more.
The case brings into question: who has “the right to defend themselves” in the United States of America? Karmelo Anthony has been sentenced to 35 years.
George Zimmerman, who murdered Trayvon Martin in cold blood in suburban Florida, was found not guilty. Daniel Penny was found not guilty. Derek Chauvin was sentenced to 22.5 years. Amber Guyger was sentenced to 10 years. Rick Chow was found not guilty. Brock Turner served three months for the violent rape of a young woman in California. Those six cases combined do not amount to Anthony’s sentence. All but Karmelo Anthony were given the benefit of the doubt and assured that the deaths in their hands fit under the umbrella of self-defense.
And, there are even more cases to add to this litany. Kyle Rittenhouse murdered two BLM protestors in cold blood in Kenosha, Wisconsin, in 2020. Rittenhouse traveled across state lines, with the express purpose of shooting protesters with an AR-15-style rifle. Not so shockingly, that is exactly what he did. Rittenhouse is widely known to hold alt-right ideology and has cashed in on his 2020 murders. How many years is Rittenhouse spending in prison? Zero.
Fast forward to 2022 in Baltimore, Maryland. At a busy intersection, an intoxicated middle-aged white man approaches a group of Black youth, crossing 9 lines of traffic to reach the youth. Upon arrival, Mr. Timothy Reynolds began swinging wildly at the Black teenagers with a baseball bat. Tavon Scott, 14 years old at the time, shot Reynolds in self-defense. A year and a half later, then-16-year-old Tavon was tried as an adult and sentenced to 15 years in prison.
There are two justice systems in the United States of America. One is for the wealthy and the white. The other is for everyone else. If you are Black in the U.S., you certainly fall under “everyone else.” Black people are treated with harsher penalties for often the same alleged crimes. Black people are disproportionately incarcerated. According to the United States Sentencing Commission, Black men receive sentences that average 20.4% longer than White men. From arrest to trial, the pipeline of institutionalized racism seeks to keep Black bodies within the system that is an extension of slavery.
When Karmelo’s parents were asked if they believed their son received a fair trial, they responded, “absolutely not.” Karmelo was initially held on a $1 million bond. There were no Black jurors. The judge was not impartial and the defense lawyer made disappointing decisions. The case was quick.
Karmelo Anthony’s case further exposes the flexibility of the law, and how anti-Black racism is a pillar within the U.S. justice system.
Karmelo never showed intent to kill.
Karmelo should be free.
Members from Black Lives Matter Grassroots were on the ground in Texas supporting Karmelo and his family throughout the court case. In a statement on Instagram, they wrote:
“Black Lives Matter Grassroots is calling for Karmelo’s immediate pardon and release, an investigation into potential conflicts of interest and corruption, a review and suspension of Judge John Roach, and continued support for the Anthony family.”
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