Karmelo Anthony sat in a Collin County, Texas courtroom as a new judge began weighing whether the 19-year-old will get a new trial in the fatal stabbing of another teen, Austin Metcalf.
His new legal team has since won the recusal of trial judge John Roach, arguing a television interview Judge Roach gave after the verdict showed bias, and has filed motions seeking a new trial. On August 19, Judge Sid Harle presided over that hearing, ruling that Judge Roach must step aside.
In June, a Collin County jury found Mr. Anthony guilty of first-degree murder in the April 2025 stabbing of Mr. Metcalf during an argument at a Frisco track meet. Both were 17 years old at the time of the incident. Mr. Anthony was sentenced to 35 years in prison and will be eligible for parole after serving half that time. He has maintained he acted in self-defense after Mr. Metcalf allegedly pushed him.
Hearings for a new trial before a new judge, Michael Chitty, began on August 20, reopening questions about what jurors were never allowed to hear.
Attorney Sadiyah A. Evangelista Karriem, a Houston-based criminal defense lawyer following the case, said the recusal of Judge Roach points to a larger principle now at the center of the appeal.
“The judge who tried this case went on television afterward and said the jury got it right. He said that while he still held the power to undo that verdict himself,” she said. Atty. Karriem said that Judge Harle of the Fourth Administrative Judicial Region indicated that he did not know Judge Roach.
“He (Judge Harle) said he believed Roach would be fair. He took him off anyway, because of how it might look to a third party. That is the principle our courts should run on. Not a judge’s word that he was fair, but the public being able to see it,” she stated.
That principle, she said, is also at the heart of the defense’s push for a new trial over how the original courtroom was run.
“The defense says the courtroom was effectively closed. A handful of public seats, no cameras, no overflow room, a gag order entered 10 months early on nobody’s motion,” Atty. Karriem continued, citing case law (Waller v. Georgia) to emphasize that the public is not shut out absent an overriding reason, a narrow closure, thought given to alternatives, and findings on the record.
“When a court gets that wrong, the reviewing court does not ask whether it changed the verdict, because the injury runs to everyone who was kept outside,” she explained.
She was careful to note, “Nobody is asking anyone to forget Austin Metcalf. Nobody is asking for a dismissal. Anthony was convicted in June and got 35 years. The ask is a trial the public can truly watch,” she said.
Further, she told The Final Call, “I am happy to see the family fighting for this young man’s freedom. Although it is a sad reality a life was lost, let justice demonstrate itself from the beginning and end of this case. It was obvious the previous judge was biased.”
The case remains highly contested and racially charged in public discourse. Meanwhile, both the prosecution and the defense are presenting selective character evidence to bolster their positions in the ongoing appeal.
Prosecutors alleged that Mr. Anthony sent his then-girlfriend a photograph of a knife. His girlfriend had allegedly told a school administrator she was afraid of him. Prosecutors have also compiled a 75-page character dossier on Mr. Anthony that they intend to present as the hearings continue.
At the August 19 hearing, a motion filed by Russell Wilson—Mr. Anthony’s current attorney handling the bid for a new trial—detailed 53 documented alleged incidents, dating back to 2010, involving Austin Metcalf and his twin brother, Hunter. Atty. Mike Howard.
Who represented Mr. Anthony at the original trial, testified that none of it reached the jury because of a verbal “gentlemen’s agreement” between his team and prosecutors to keep character evidence about both families out of the courtroom—an arrangement he said was kept off paper specifically out of fear it would leak and taint the jury pool.
Among the incidents are allegations that the twins spray-painted racist graffiti, including the phrase “KKK kill all Blacks,” resulting in 12 months of juvenile probation for both brothers. Records described two separate alleged assaults on female students, including a 2018 incident that led to an arrest.
Other records alleged the twins bullied a Black classmate and used racial slurs in October 2023, that Austin was suspended after allegedly discussing plans to bring a gun to school, that he was banned from girls’ basketball games in 2021 for profanity toward players, and that Hunter had referenced “jumping” students from a rival school in messages.
Lead prosecutor Bill Wirskye did not dispute the substance of the allegations, acknowledging in court that Austin Metcalf had a history of fighting and had taken part in graffiti containing racist material.
Houston-based Attorney Pamela Muhammad spoke to the question of “reasonableness,” saying the incidents bear directly on Texas’ self-defense standard.
“The incidents that have now come out from the hearing—that was overwhelming evidence of the propensity for violence, prior bad actions of the victim,” she said, adding, “Under the Texas criminal code, the use of deadly force is authorized if you reasonably believe it’s immediately necessary to protect against another’s use of unlawful force.” This case has garnered national interest.
Los Angeles-based activist Dr. Melina Abdullah of Black Lives Matter Grassroots said the recusal of the original judge reflects the impact of sustained community organizing around Mr. Anthony’s case.
“He should have never been forced to defend himself against assailants in the first place. And of course, the trial was a sham,” she argued. “His prosecution as an adult was outrageous, and the idea that he could be sentenced to 35 years in prison is disgusting.”
Student Minister Rashad Muhammad of the Nation of Islam’s Mosque No. 48 in Dallas said that in his view, Mr. Anthony’s new legal team appears far more invested in his defense than his original one. “Everyone is entitled to a proper representation under the law of this country,” he stated.
As for the alleged “gentlemen’s agreement” between the original defense and prosecution, Student Min. Muhammad said he wasn’t surprised.
“We know how games have been played in this country between quote-unquote lawyers and representatives of the law, especially when it comes to our people,” he said. “They seem to be fighting it out in the courtroom, but behind closed doors they can sit at a lunch table, metaphorically speaking, and hash out how they want the case to unfold,” he added.
At Final Call presstime, it was reported that Judge Chitty denied the request for a new trial. According to reporting by CBS, Atty. Wilson expressed his disappointment.
“We respectfully disagree with the ruling and remain firmly committed to protecting our client’s rights,” Atty. Wilson said, according to CBS.
“We believe the issues raised in our motion are substantial and deserve meaningful appellate review. The denial of our motion does not end this case. We will continue the appeal in the Fifth Court of Appeals and pursue every legal remedy available to our client.
“Our commitment to our client has not changed. We will continue to advocate vigorously on his behalf through every lawful avenue available,” he said.
