Karmelo Anthony is appealing his recent murder conviction for the fatal stabbing of 17-year-old Austin Metcalf at a Frisco track meet last year.
Anthony, now 19, was found guilty of murder and sentenced to 35 years in prison by a Collin County jury on Tuesday.
The case has drawn national attention and controversy over the race of both teens. Anthony is Black and victim was white. None of the jurors were Black. NBC News reported the state struck down three potential Black jurors during jury selection because they were educators. The defense objected, but Judge John Roach Jr. allowed the jurors to be struck.
Collin County court records didn't indicate if Anthony's appeal would be a Batson challenge over the state's objection to the Black jurors.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Batson v. Kentucky that lawyers could not use peremptory challenges" — the ability to prevent a limited number of potential jurors from being seated on a jury — solely based on their race.
Anthony also filed a pauper oath for a court appointed appellate attorney. His family previously received funds through a GiveSendGo campaign, but it's unclear if funds remain. Anthony's mother, Kala Hayes, told the press at a news conference last year the money was being spent on her son's defense attorney. A link to the previous fundraiser says the campaign is inactive.
Collin County is one of the fastest-growing counties in the nation, according to the U.S. Census. The population is about 48% white according to U.S. Census data. The jury in the Anthony trial was mostly white. Anna Offit, a criminal law professor at Southern Methodist University, said having a white jury in a diverse county is often not an accident.
"It is a choice," Offit said. "It's not inevitable."
The racial makeup of the jury — and what they think about race — is especially important in this trial, she said.
"Racial misinformation, racial stereotypes are particularly problematic in this murder trial because this is a trial that's going to come down to what ordinary people make of the alleged altercation between the defendant and victim here," she said.
Metcalf's father, Jeff Metcalf, condemned the public's response to his son's murder, during his victim impact statement, saying it was never about race.
“You failed your parents, you failed yourself and you failed society,” said Metcalf, looking at Anthony after the teenager was sentenced.
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