Karmelo Anthony sentenced to 35 years as post-verdict disputes intensify

Summary

A Texas jury convicted 19-year-old Karmelo Anthony of murder and sentenced him to 35 years in prison for the stabbing death of 17-year-old Austin Metcalf at a high school track meet. The verdict has not quieted the case. Anthony's father, Andrew Anthony, told CBS News the jury was "all-white," a claim court records contradict: the jury included multiple racial minorities. Meanwhile, Anthony's legal team filed a request this week for a court-appointed appellate attorney on the grounds that he cannot afford representation, even as his family has raised more than $635,000 through crowdfunding for his defense. On the other side of the case, Jeff Metcalf, Austin's father, called the Anthony family "cowards" for framing the proceedings as a racial issue, and his family says it has received death threats since the conviction. At least one Anthony supporter faces allegations of assault. The collision of a crowdfunding windfall, a contested juror-composition claim, and ongoing harassment of the victim's family has kept the case at a high temperature well past sentencing. Article 9 in this cluster, a Guardian book-recommendations roundup, shares no subject matter with the other eight and was not factored into this summary.