Public outrage over the Karmelo Anthony case is growing with a recent court decision to dramatically reduce the teen suspect's bail from $1 million to $250,000, of which only 10% must be paid to secure the suspect's release.
Judge Angela Tucker of the 199th District Court in Collin County (pictured below) significantly reduced track meet stabbing suspect Karmelo Anthony's bond and placed him under house arrest. Anthony, a 17-year-old student at Frisco Centennial High School, was then released from jail Monday afternoon. Anthony was arrested and charged with murder in the death of 17-year-old Austin Metcalf at the UIL District 11-5A championship track meet at Frisco ISD's Kuykendall Stadium.
The teen was represented by Dallas defense attorney Mike Howard at the hearing. Howard initially asked the court to reduce the bond amount to $150,000. After the hearing, Howard said the $250,000 bond imposed by the judge was "fair," in a press conference.
"Bond, as the judge said, is not supposed to be an instrument of oppression, it's not supposed to keep people in jail, it's not supposed to punish," Howard said. "It is to ensure that a person shows up to court, complies with all conditions and it's supposed to keep the community safe. This is a large and substantial bond and I think the judge has rightly imposed reasonable conditions that will ensure both Karmelo's and the Anthony families' safety but also the safety of the community..."
The reduced bail came as a shock, primarily because Anthony already confessed to the stabbing of Austin Metcalf to police, though he claims he was "acting in self defense". Police reports indicate that Anthony entered the tent of the opposing team and was asked to leave by Austin Metcalf. Anthony refused, unzipping a bag and telling Metcalf to "touch him and see what happens..." Metcalf reportedly pushed or grabbed the suspect, who then pulled a knife from the bag and stabbed Metcalf in the chest. He died soon after from blood loss in the arms if his twin brother.
Rumors swirled online after the incident, with race activists quickly coming to the defense of Karmelo Anthony and spreading rumors that he had been persistently bullied by Metcalf (this claim was later debunked, the two teens had never met before).
According to the evidence available so far, Anthony intruded upon the private tent of another team, made threats when he was asked to leave, then, instead of fighting like a man when confrontation ensued, he pulled a knife and stabbed Austin Metcalf in cowardly fashion.
Unless there is some piece of crucial evidence being withheld, such as Metcalf threatening Anthony with a weapon, there is simply no legal standing for a self defense plea. Online and armchair "legal experts" claim that Metcalf's supposed touching or grabbing of Anthony constitutes an action that justifies deadly force. In reality the suspect is required to demonstrate that he faced an imminent threat of death or great bodily harm.
If the roles were reversed, there would be riots in the streets across America and the very same activists would claim "systemic racism". It is a pattern seen over and over again in the US since the George Floyd case, with minority violence being spun as self defense and the response of police or any white bystander painted as racist oppression. The CRT faction of the political left seems intent on making Karmelo Anthony into a black Daniel Penny or Kyle Rittenhouse reacting to save himself. The available evidence simply doesn't support this narrative.
Unwanted physical contact alone is not legal justification for the use of a deadly weapon.
What was Anthony doing at a school track meet with a knife? Why was he in another team's tent and why did he refuse to leave? Anthony also allegedly ran before police arrived (truly the act of an innocent person). Witness reports suggest an angry young man hoping to start a confrontation while he had a knife close at hand.
Perhaps adding insult to injury, the suspect's family has raised nearly half a million dollars through crowdfunding for Anthony's legal defense with many donators saying they support Anthony purely because he's black. His father, however, revealed that they may use the money to purchase a new home in a gated community for "Karmelo's safety".
He argues that "racist threats" have made the move necessary. Anthony's lawyers insisted the money raised online "is not a bond fund" and that the family needs the money to get by because Anthony's dad is currently on leave from his job. The decision is rather familiar; very similar to BLM leaders also buying $6 million houses using crowdfunded money originally intended to help the organization's activist efforts.
The trend within minority communities of applauding violence then crying victim when a suspect is punished continues to perpetuate racial divisions and prevents said communities from learning anything of value. If a group thinks they are always right, or always oppressed, then they will never change for the better and they will grow ever more childish and hostile. It is a cultural path to disaster.
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