Karmelo Anthony Should Be Home

So, of course this week we saw the public (legal) lynching of now 19-year-old Karmelo Anthony of Frisco, Texas who was accused of murder and was sentenced to 35-years in prison in a neighboring county. While we as a collective hoped and prayed the outcome would be different, we instinctively knew what was going to happen. First, when the makeup of the jurors we officially announced, we tried like always to take the high road and believe in the judicial system like we're always told to do. Total fail. Next, the way in which the court decided that within one-week, Anthony would be tried, convicted and sentenced was something unprecedented in normal cases. But we are not in normal times and people are truly showing who they truly are. As you recall, in April 2025 a then 17-year-old Karmelo was outside on school grounds underneath a tent when he was approached by a group of teenagers asking him to leave. When he refused, due to the pouring rain and allegedly being invited over there, Austin and Hunter Metcalf decided to get physical and push Anthony. While in fight or flight mode, Anthony took a weapon and injured Austin, and he succumbed to his wounds. A tragedy all around. For months the Anthony was accused of taking legal raised money and using it for their personal needs. While this couldn't be further from the truth is that because of the racial background and who was the victim in this case, they had to hire security and move from their place of residence. Now fast forward to last week. Anthony was sentenced within the same day and his conviction and of course the racist came out in full mass. I too was a victim of online rhetoric as I stated my opinion about the case. I was called "nigga", "dipshit", "low IQ", and "moron". It never fails. Jeff Metcalf, Austin's dad displayed his hateful behavior on a local interview after months of saying this case was not about race, but rather justice for his son, disparaging the Anthony family by calling his dad a "coward" and his mother a "drunk bitch" along with other debunked racial stereotypes. As for me, that is where the sympathy stopped. It was clear then like it is clear now why those boys felt entitled to assault Karmelo. This learned behavior. But there is hope. 24 hours after Karmelo's conviction an appeal was filed on his behalf, new funding was set up as well as a location where we can write to him. We will do the heavy lifting because Karmelo needs us to. Justice will not be served until that young man is free and we will not be silenced because you want us to be.