Karmelo Anthony Supporter: “What Do I Tell My 5 Boys?”

Sandra Rose
Sandra Rose
Photo of Karmelo Anthony
Karmelo Anthony in court (Illustration)

Karmelo Anthony’s guilty verdict triggered reactions from across the country on Tuesday. The 19-year-old was sentenced to 35 years in prison for the 2025 fatal stabbing of 17-year-old Austin Metcalf at a Frisco track meet.

Anthony’s supporters gathered outside the courthouse vented their frustration at a system that allowed an all-white jury to sit in judgment of an African American teenager.

One woman was visibly distraught over the verdict. She told a reporter that the stabbing was an act of self-defense, and she didn’t know what to tell her 5 sons.

“I’m lost for words, I don’t know what to do. I got five boys. I don’t know what – I ain’t got nothing to tell them no more. You can’t walk away no more,” she said.

Rapper Cardi B said Karmelo Anthony’s conviction was “disgusting” and “not justice.”

Others compared Anthony’s situation to Trayvon Martin, a 17-year-old African American who was murdered by George Zimmerman in Sanford, Florida, in 2012. Zimmerman was acquitted of second degree murder and manslaughter in 2013.

An X.com user compared Anthony to Kyle Rittenhouse, a 17-year-old Caucasian male, who fatally shot two men and wounded another man during a civil rights rally in Kenosha, Wisconsin in 2020. Rittenhouse was found not guilty. Race was a factor in all three self-defense cases.

Charleston White, an influencer and motivational speaker from Fort Worth, said of Anthony’s verdict: “This was unfair. It was an all-white jury, and the judge, DA, and Austin’s dad are all buddies. We’ve already got the money set aside to appeal and keep fighting.”

Anthony was convicted of murder on Tuesday, June 9. During the punishment phase of the trial, his mother, Kala Hayes, asked the jurors for mercy. “He’s my oldest, he’s my firstborn. He will always be my baby. I love him very much.”

When the prosecutor asked her if Anthony regrets what he did, she responded: “I know my son, and he’s very sorry for what he did. Please have mercy on my son.”

The jury rejected the defense’s request to consider extenuating circumstances of “sudden passion,” meaning a crime that occurred in the heat of the moment.

Under Texas law, Anthony must serve half of his sentence (17.5 years) to be eligible for parole with good behavior.

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