On Tuesday, a Collin County grand jury indicted Karmelo Anthony on a first-degree homicide cost — a call that can please advocates for the alleged sufferer, 17-year-old Austin Metcalf, however outrage individuals who have questioned for months why it’s so onerous for a Black teen to be taken critically when he claims self-defense.
Anthony, who was 17 when he allegedly stabbed Metcalf to dying throughout a monitor meet at Kuykendall Stadium, “might face a doable sentence of 5-99 years or life in jail,” CBS Information reported, noting that “within the Texas felony justice system, 17-year-olds are thought-about adults.”
So, what’s subsequent for the now 18-year-old, who has been on home arrest since he was launched on a decreased bond on April 14?
Nicely, now that Anthony has formally been indicted, the following step is to assign a trial decide to preside over his case. That decide will then set a courtroom date for the defendant’s first look. That a part of the authorized course of might take days, weeks or months.
Within the meantime, each prosecutors and protection attorneys appear desirous to make their circumstances.
“We all know this case has struck a deep nerve — right here in Collin County and past. That’s comprehensible. When one thing like this occurs at a faculty occasion, it shakes individuals to the core,” Collin County District Legal professional Greg Willis mentioned in an announcement. “However the justice system works greatest when it strikes with steadiness and with precept. That’s what we’re dedicated to. And that’s precisely what this case deserves.”
Austin’s father, Jeff Metcalf, seems hopeful that the courtroom will give him and his household justice.
“I’m happy that we’re transferring ahead. With the first-degree homicide indictment, it now goes into the courtroom system. I absolutely consider that justice will likely be served for Austin Metcalf. I stay up for the forthcoming trial. However it would by no means deliver my son again,” he mentioned.
Nonetheless, Karmelo’s legal professional, Mike Howard, seems to be simply as assured that his consumer will likely be vindicated as soon as he’s allowed to inform his model of the tragic occasion that unfolded on April 2.
“Karmelo and his household are assured within the justice system and the individuals of Collin County to be honest and neutral,” Howard mentioned in a recorded video. “In fact, Karmelo seems to be ahead to his day in courtroom, as a result of it’s solely in a trial that the total story might be heard, and that neutral justice might be finished. We count on that when the total story is heard, the prosecution will be unable to rule out the affordable doubt that Carmelo Anthony might have acted in self-defense.”
On April 2, Anthony, a student-athlete at Centennial Excessive College, allegedly stabbed Metcalf throughout a dispute that changed into a bodily altercation below the Memorial Excessive College tent at David Kuykendall Stadium throughout a Frisco ISD district-wide monitor meet. A number of witnesses, together with Metcalf’s twin brother Hunter, informed police that the 2 teenagers didn’t know one another previous to the altercation. Witnesses additionally said that Metcalf and his teammates confronted Anthony after noticing he was below their group’s tent carrying a distinct college’s tracksuit. In accordance with USA TODAY, an arrest affidavit famous {that a} college useful resource officer was the primary to reach on the scene, and when he instructed Anthony to place his palms up, the teenager allegedly replied, “I used to be defending myself!”
SEE ALSO:
Karmelo Anthony Can’t Declare Self-Protection However Kyle Rittenhouse Can?
Karmelo Anthony Will Get His Diploma, However His Authorized Battle Looms
Karmelo Anthony Indicted By Grand Jury For 1st-Diploma Homicide, What’s Subsequent?
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