Texas judge defends barring cameras from Karmelo Anthony murder trial
Judge John Roach Jr. defends his decision to bar cameras from the Karmelo Anthony murder trial. Anthony, convicted in the fatal stabbing of Austin Metcalf, is appealing his 35-year sentence. Judge Roach dismisses claims of personal ties to Metcalf’s family, emphasizing a fair trial was his priority, despite criticism surrounding the case’s racial dynamics.
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Karmelo Anthony supporters continue to voice their concerns and frustrations following his conviction and sentencing for murder.
Anthony was found guilty and sentenced to 35 years behind bars on Tuesday, June 9, after he stabbed and killed 17-year-old Austin Metcalf at a Frisco, Texas, high school track meet last year.
His supporters maintain the convicted killer was acting in self-defense when he stabbed Metcalf.
Karmelo Anthony appears with his attorney in a courtroom sketch during his murder trial. He is also shown in custody of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. (Pat Lopez/Texas Department of Criminal Justice)
One of them is Donna Robinson, a parole supervisor within the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. The Dallas Morning News reported she made a comment on Facebook that cost her her job.
Addressing comments about the sentencing, she wrote “that Anthony would be protected in prison, adding she didn’t care about the victim’s family’s loss,” according to the outlet.
Karmelo Anthony was convicted of killing Austin Metcalf. (Texas Department of Criminal Justice; Jeff Metcalf)
Fox News Digital also reported Howard University professor Stacey Patton wrote an opinion article on her Substack “Dear Jeff Metcalf: Your Son Is Dead Because You Failed to Teach Him That Black Boys Have Boundaries,” which essentially blames the victim for the killing.
Another supporter, W. Burlette Carter, who is a professor emerita of law at George Washington University, made her concerns with the trial public following the verdict.
She made a post on X that said, “Karmelo Anthony was entitled to a jury of his peers. He did not get that. On that ground alone, he is entitled to a new trial. Minorities are not interchangeable. The prosecutor’s reported proffered reasons for striking all black jurors —that they were teachers—appears to be pretext. Anthony needs a new lawyer on appeal and in a new trial.”
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Karmelo Anthony poses for a new mugshot photo. (Collin County Jail)
Anthony’s trial was made up of jurors who are fellow U.S. citizens — also known as a “jury of one’s peers.” In all criminal prosecutions, the U.S. Constitution says the accused has “the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed.”
Fox News Digital has reached out to Howard University, TDCJ, and Burlette Carter for comment.