by J. Pharoah Doss
In 2025, Karmelo Anthony, 17, fatally stabbed Austin Metcalf, also 17, at a Texas high school track meet. The teenagers attended different high schools and didn’t know each other. Anthony surrendered to the authorities, but he admitted stabbing Metcalf before claiming self-defense.
The altercation began when the track meet was delayed due to rain.
Anthony entered Metcalf’s team tent. Team tents are restricted zones reserved for athletes from each school. Anthony was told to leave the tent. Anthony refused. Austin approached Anthony to remove him from the tent. Witnesses claimed Anthony reached into his backpack and told Metcalf, “Touch me and see what happens.” Metcalf grabbed or shoved Anthony. Then Anthony pulled out a knife and stabbed him.
Texas law recognizes five elements of self-defense:
1) Innocence: The individual cannot be the aggressor or provoke the threat.
2) Imminence: The individual must believe that they are in immediate danger of suffering serious bodily harm or death.
3) Proportionality: The amount of force used in self-defense should not exceed what is necessary to avoid injury.
4) Reasonability: The belief that force is necessary must be rational. This criterion is based on whether a reasonable person would use force in the same situation.
5) Avoidance: In Texas, if you are in a legal place, you don’t have to retreat. Individuals are advised to avoid confrontation whenever possible, if it is safe to do so.
An individual claiming self-defense does not have to meet all five elements, but they must meet the basic legal requirements. Which Anthony didn’t. After Anthony was charged with first-degree murder, many legal experts predicted that if the original accounts of the stabbing were correct, Anthony’s self-defense argument would fail in court.
On June 9, 2026, Anthony was found guilty of Metcalf’s murder and sentenced to 35 years.
The case of Anthony, a Black teen, and Metcalf, a White teen, drew national attention and created intense racial division. Right-wing provocateurs organized a “Protect White America” event to show their support for the slain teenager. Metcalf’s father chastised the demonstrators for making the issue about race. On another occasion, Anthony’s attorney stated that the law applies equally to all people, regardless of race—we have faith in the Collin County residents to follow the law blindly.
Collin County, Texas, was home to 636,304 people in 2025. The county’s racial composition was as follows. 1. White—56.9 percent 2. Asian—17.6 percent 3. Black—10.7 percent 4. Multiracial—10.6 percent 5. Other—3.5 percent.
After jury selection, race became a major issue in the case since the prosecution dismissed all potential Black jurors. Even if juror seats were allocated based on the percentage of each racial group in Collin County to guarantee equal representation, just one Black person would have served on the jury. Based only on population numbers, there was a high likelihood that the jury would be devoid of Black members; yet the lack of a single Black juror led many Anthony supporters to proclaim that he would not receive a fair trial.
During jury selection, potential jurors were asked if they could stay impartial considering the extensive media coverage of the case and the defendant’s youth, as well as if they could fairly evaluate him if he chose not to testify. Several potential Black jurors acknowledged their difficulties being impartial; one stated that they “would have a hard time putting a brother in jail,” while another revealed that if Anthony did not testify, they would find it difficult to believe in his innocence.
Anthony supporters failed to realize that these potential Black jurors were excluded to ensure a fair trial, but let’s suppose the Black person who indicated they would have a “hard time putting a brother in jail” was selected for the jury. Would that have changed the outcome?
Probably not.
This person had difficulties “putting a brother” in jail since they believed Anthony was peacefully sitting beneath the tent, was bullied, outnumbered, jumped, and ultimately defended himself. However, under cross-examination, the key witness for the defense admitted that Anthony was aggressive and neither bullied nor outnumbered or jumped, confirming to the jury that Anthony did not meet the legal requirements for self-defense.
After hearing such damning testimony, the Black juror would have had an easier time “putting a brother in jail.”