The aftermath of the guilty verdict levied on Karmelo Anthony for the murder of Austin Metcalf is heating up. Anthony was not only found guilty of murder of Tuesday, the now 19-year-old was also sentenced to 35 years in prison and won’t be eligible for parole until half of his sentence of complete.
Anthony’s trial was quick and precise, with the all-non-Black jury deciding the fate of the young man pretty quickly. Now Anthony’s parents are speaking out and saying they wish they’d hired a Black attorney to represent their son in the case that in many ways determined how the next roughly 17-18 years of his life would go until he’s eligible for parole.
Anthony’s Parents Left With Regret
In a pretty raw interview with radio host Mimi Brown following their son being found guilty and sentenced to 35 years in prison, Andrew Anthony and Kayla Hayes had this to say.
“They told us go get white attorneys. They pushed him. There was no objections.”
“My son is no murderer,” said Hayes. “My son didn’t intend to hurt anyone. My son was defending himself, and that’s what hurts so bad.”
“To have mercy on my son. That’s what I told the jury,” she said. “I know they had their minds made up already; there really wasn’t much I could say to change their minds.”
His father Andrew piggybacked his wife’s comments.
“We were delusional,” said Andrew Anthony. “We thought we were going to get a fair shake.”
“Everyone lied on the stand,” Hayes said. “All of the witnesses’ statements were inconsistent. All of them.”
“He was convicted when he walked out of the jail,” said Andrew Anthony. “If you look at the news, he was already convicted. It was already done. There was no ‘innocent until proven guilty,’ he was already guilty.”
“People want us dead,” Andrew Anthony said. “After they still got what they wanted… they still want us dead. I go look at my phone, people want us dead. They want our family dead.”
“They did a number on us,” Andrew Anthony said. “We didn’t get justice. A lot of things that were missed that should have been handled a certain way; however, we couldn’t say anything. We did what we were instructed. We did what we were told.”
Social Media A Buzz In The Aftermath
Anthony’s parents comments drew plenty of responses via social media.
“That attorney looks straight out of the confederacy,” someone said.
“They choose the white attorney because they didn’t trust black lawyers themselves. This what happens when black people become anti-black themselves. They live in a majority community and sent their son to a majority all white school and hired a white lawyer smh,” another person commented.
“Some of our people think the white man’s ice is colder. Very disheartening as an African-American Attorney myself,” another replied.
“No way I’d use a white lawyer,” a person quipped.
“Black folk love the personalized cheap t-shirts. Probably should have spent that money on a better attorney,” a person said.
“They failed their son! They failed their community! They knew their son was a thug! His social media was chalked full of gangster BS and did not set a course of correction. All they did was cash-in on the Murderous behavior of the monster they helped create,” someone replied.
“Thank God Anthony is in jail. He should’ve got a longer sentence cause murder is murder. Don’t matter what color your skin is,” a person replied.
“I hope they get sued into oblivion. The Metcalf family needs to sue ALL of these liars and propaganda pushers. They are trying to start a race war,” another person quipped.
Cardi B And Jasmine Crockett Speak Out
Anthony’s verdict and sentencing has everyone talking and that includes “Bodak Yellow” rapper Cardi B fresh off her NBA Finals Game 3 live performance, the outspoken rapper had this to say.
“Wow! Just freakin wow! DISGUSTING… This is not justice, this is trying to make an example!!!” she wrote.
She also says she’ll tell her two sons don’t argue with white boys.
Democratic Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett says she would’ve also stabbed Metcalf.
“If a 300-pound man is beating me, like on top of me and beating me down, I’m not limited to fists,” Crockett said during Tuesday’s episode of “Clock It with Crockett.”
Both of their comments were met with plenty of blowback and disagreement, not that either care.
