"Karmelo Anthony Didn't Do Anything Wrong..." People Defending His Actions In Killing Austin Metcalf

[00:00:00]Carmelo Anthony plans to appeal his murder conviction in the stabbing death of Austin Metaf at a high school track meet last year when they were both 17 years old. The jury sentenced him to 35 years in prison. Metaf's father, Jeff, giving an emotional victim impact statement during the sentencing hearing.

[00:00:19]Quote, "The public response sickens me, especially when a gag order doesn't allow me to defend my son. This was never about race or politics, but what you did was to choose to make it about both. We all bleed the same color. You are free to make choices all your life, but you are not free to not face consequences.

[00:00:41]Correspondent Broo Taylor reporting live from McKini, Texas with the latest. Hi, Brooke.

[00:00:48]>> Hi Martha. We just got word that Anony's legal team has filed that notice of appeal. But just seconds ago, we wrapped up an interview with the district attorney and the lead prosecutor on the case. I could tell you they are extremely confident with the verdict here. There was no cameras in the courtroom, so it's our first time really hearing from them. Take a listen to what they told me. Their reaction was >> just relief. Uh relief that 12 members of our community, the jurors, saw it the same way we did. that this was murder, plain and simple, and then they saw punishment like we saw it, that he needed a lengthy prison sentence. I was relieved. I thought it would be murder, but until you hear it, of course, can a jury can do whatever they want as long as they're following the law. So, I was relieved for the family mostly.

[00:01:37]And the and the jury sentenced Carmemelllo Anthony to 35 years behind bars for fatally stabbing 17-year-old Austin Metaf during a high school track meet. Both the DA and lead prosecutor told me they were satisfied with this sentence even though Anthony faced up to 99 years behind bars.

[00:01:57]>> Dang, I gotta breathe.

[00:02:00]>> 35 years. Okay. No. Who Who thought Who Before we go into deeper, who thought he should have been found innocent? Raise your hand.

[00:02:10]>> Not innocent, but manslaughter.

[00:02:12]>> Innocent. I should have got >> Maybe not murder.

[00:02:15]>> Maybe manslaughter. Okay. Wait. Raised her hand. Then we gonna go into the what? He should have been charged. Why >> did Mr. Pullup did too?

[00:02:25]>> You said what?

[00:02:27]>> Mr. Pullup raised his hand too.

[00:02:29]>> Mr. Pullup. Okay. So, Mr. Say not.

[00:02:32]>> Why do y'all think he should have been innocent before we go deeper into it?

[00:02:36]>> Go to Mr. Bullet first.

[00:02:37]>> Yeah. I want I want to say he was innocent.

[00:02:40]>> You know what I mean? Cuz he did you know stab somebody and man lost his life. So you know I I think about it you know if that was somebody one of our children or something. What would you want that man to get sentenced or whatnot? So I I don't think you know he was innocent but you know 35 years that's pretty much a life sentence. You know, when you talking about, you know, any type of prison time, >> he going to be 52 when he get out.

[00:03:01]>> No, he'll be out in his 30s. He'll only have to do 17 and a half.

[00:03:05]>> Yeah.

[00:03:10]>> Tell the truth. I don't know, man.

[00:03:13]>> Let let Don say her motion why he should have been innocent and then we'll go into y'all.

[00:03:18]>> Oh, Lord.

[00:03:20]should have been innocent for the charge of murder because I don't think murder should have been the original charge to begin with. That's something to expect with a high-profile case like this because you have a better chance in my opinion for the prosecution to convince the jury of murder because of the damning evidence like Carmelo immediately saying I stabbed him. That's like gold mine for the prosecution. I do believe that criminal negligent homicide, I think that's what it's called, I think, and or manslaughter should have been the choice because it's kind of hard to prove intent to murder, period. And I don't think they did a good job in proving the intent to murder, even though the result of his actions did result in someone losing their life, which is why the criminal uh justice system has tears of killings from manslaughter to negligence all the way to capital murder. So, I just think that >> I don't know. They kind of was able to prove that intent though for a couple of different reasons. One, why did he even have it? Is it illegal to have the little pocketk knife thing that he had?

[00:04:31]Absolutely not. But why you got that?

[00:04:34]>> You said what?

[00:04:36]>> It's illegal for them to carry that on school grounds.

[00:04:39]>> I'm talking about in general, >> you cannot have it on on school grounds.

[00:04:46]>> That's his law.

[00:04:48]>> So if he wasn't if he wasn't on school grounds, yes, it would have been good.

[00:04:51]But >> right, follow me here. So in general, it was not an illegal thing for him to have. But because it is illegal for him to have it, >> that could also aid toward them proving intent. Also him by him saying, "Touch me and see what happens." And then they were also talking about reasonable force. A push does not equal a stab regardless if I get it that he was at like 6'2, 200 something and he was like 180 5'8. I get it. But you mean force with reasonable force. a push could have been another push, but you just don't go straight from a push to a stab. And especially if he said, "Touch me and see what happened." So, I could see why, you know, the defense was kind of like um there was some intent whether or not it was going to be him. It could have been somebody else.

[00:05:42]>> The prosecution prosecution. The problem with that theory, the problem with that theory is that he should have >> he's he he has to go to prison for I think for manslaughter because he he has no criminal record. He has a high uh grade point average. I think it's a 4.0 or something. And he's the captain of the football team. Um um again, no criminal record. And he stabbed him once.

[00:06:13]He stabbed him once and then asked was he okay? So, so you gotta take all of that. These are just the facts. These are the facts.

[00:06:23]>> But they also have >> I don't care if he vice president's son.

[00:06:27]Honestly, >> don't do that.

[00:06:30]>> No, I'm playing devil's advocate. I'm playing devil's advocate.

[00:06:33]>> No, but if you're going to do that, you got to do it fairly because Austin and his brother also have photos and videos of them holding guns, too. And I don't like that stereotype where if you see a black teenager holding a gun at his grandmama's house holding up and then you see a family like Austin and his family just because they're duck hunting with their guns. There's no difference.

[00:06:54]So >> it is a little bit different though.

[00:06:56]>> It is different on a school property that's illegal. Definitely that's a big difference about just making a reference to the photo to like a character.

[00:07:08]Well, two things, Dalen. I want to play devil's advocate to give a a different way to look at it. It doesn't mean I agree either way, right? I'm just giving a perspective. So, I just want to say that. But then also, too, it is a big difference than a person holding guns up like this in a photo as opposed to somebody holding a gun going hunting.

[00:07:27]The intent is different. The reason is different.

[00:07:31]>> Like, just overall, it's just different.

[00:07:33]>> Wait a minute. No, no. I think you should probably >> what it looks like when let's say for us if we're looking at a a teenage boy that looks like Austin and he's holding up a gun >> and he's maybe in camo just like how we saw it it's safe to say okay maybe he comes from a family that teaches their boys how to hunt and how to be gun safe gun owners >> how to hunt [ __ ] >> to not assume that Carmelo had the same thing just because he's not OUTSIDE >> THAT PHOTO THAT HAD A POCKET knife that's not the same is hunting.

[00:08:05]>> You live in Arizona and I think that you think this is a gang sign, baby. This means Houston. He was >> No, I did this. This is handguns.

[00:08:14]>> Well, him >> and I'm not even from Arizona.

[00:08:17]>> Well, I'm just saying because you're not in Texas. Like when people saw a photo of him holding up whatever type of gun in his house, they're saying, "Okay, if you're black and you're holding a gun, you're more likely to be a thug or somebody who's a hook. But if you're white, >> but most black people holding guns ain't holding it because they about to go shoot some ghost.

[00:08:36]>> But you can't make that.

[00:08:37]>> Exactly.

[00:08:38]>> You can't make that.

[00:08:39]>> You can you can [laughter] type the money that my It depends what type of gun they holding. They not holding up no AR-15 to go hunting.

[00:08:49]>> And it also also depends on where the pictures.

[00:08:55]>> Y'all got do mic. Y'all got to do one, Mike.

[00:08:57]>> That y'all are being biased and that you do feed into the stereotype. When you see a black boy, >> that's not a stereotype.

[00:09:03]>> Yeah. Just like I can never land my plane. When we look at black kids and we see them in photos and videos of them holding up guns, we do make the assumption they're ripping and running the streets, causing chaos, wreaking havoc all over their communities. But if we see white boys or Asian boys holding up their guns, we affiliated with, oh, they're hunters. Their daddies are teaching them how to hunt deer. and stuff like that. And I think that's a misrepresentation for this specific case because Carmelo does not have a history of being gang affiliated. He does not have a track recording.

[00:09:38]>> He was >> What white boy do you see with a stack of money to his gun? Like how often do you see white boys doing that?

[00:09:46]>> But even Tik Tok, there's a lot of them on Tik Tok.

[00:09:49]>> They do it a lot. On Tik Tok got one mic. Y'all got to do one, Mike.

[00:09:55]>> Hold on. Really, really quick. The The thing is, who's actually in the streets causing havoc with guns?

[00:10:03]>> Here she go.

[00:10:04]>> Let me stay focused on the case, please.

[00:10:06]>> That is No, no, no, no. Now you want to be >> going back. Going back.

[00:10:09]>> We're talking about what you're saying.

[00:10:11]You were talking about a stereo. Hold on. Let me say what I'm saying. You're talking about a stereotype. You're saying that we're stereotyping them because one, both of them have guns in a picture. I'm asking who is doing the havoc in the streets? The white boys with with their guns or the black boys with their guns?

[00:10:34]>> I'm going to answer you this because I won't be your racist.

[00:10:38]>> When you ask me, I want a white. I'm asking. I got one mic.

[00:10:42]>> I'm just asking because you presented that we're stereotyping and >> that it's a stereotypical viewpoint. If you're going to look make a comment about this boy being in a photograph holding up a gun and I guess just it was a gun in one hand and a stack of money in the other. I'm saying that looking at a photo like that, making the assumption that that's credible to suggest that his likelihood to to commit a murder, I don't think that that goes hand in hand because if you're going to say, well, you're a teenage holding up a gun more likely to kill somebody, then you need to apply that same rhetoric to Austin because he too is a teenage boy who is photographed holding up a gun and it doesn't matter. She's saying but she ding ding ding. She saying white people are better like they better than >> No, no, no, no, no. I I She know. You heard exactly what I asked her. No. You heard exactly what I asked her. Shampoo.

[00:11:37]I'm asking.

[00:11:37]>> But you know. Hey. You know what?

[00:11:39]Everybody leaving up boys in the street causing havoc with guns or are there black boys in the streeting with guns?

[00:11:50]>> White boys are better. And the white boys do it too. Hold on. Hold on. Hold on. Hold on. Hey, who shoot who's shooting school innocent children?

[00:11:59]>> Let her answer the question.

[00:12:01]>> No, no, no. Hold on. Hold on. No. Let me ask you a question.

[00:12:03]>> I want her to ask who's taking these assault rifles to schools and killing innocent kids.

[00:12:12]>> Wait, y'all y'all can stay focused on the topic.

[00:12:18]>> Taking Who's taking assault rifles?

[00:12:20]Who's taking choppers to school and killing innocent?

[00:12:23]>> See, that's why we we we moving off topic. We need to stay on.

[00:12:27]>> Nobody going to answer that. Talking about the stereotype.

[00:12:31]>> Nobody's going to answer that though.

[00:12:33]Why is there a stereotype when it comes to >> Hold on. Hold on. LET ME LET ME LET ME LET ME SPILL. Let me disingenuous black people. Hold on. Hold on. Is there a stereotype when it comes to those pictures? I'M GOING TELL YOU WHY. Did I tell you why? Can I tell you? If you talk and you let me if you let me if if you listen I can tell you.

[00:12:50]>> First of all, I'm not saying it's right, but black kids, THEY KILL A TARGET.

[00:12:56]WHITE BOYS pick up their daddy gun and go kill a whole school full of six-year-olds.

[00:12:59]>> Oh my god.

[00:13:00]>> They don't care about that though. D.

[00:13:02]You don't want to talk about that though, right?

[00:13:04]>> Okay. So, we >> You want to miss me with all the gang the gang activ Okay. Gang members kill other gang members.

[00:13:14]gang members kill other gang members.

[00:13:16]>> PEOPLE STILL >> OKAY, THEY ARE. BUT WHAT I'M SAYING IS, but you but you're nullifying Hold on.

[00:13:21]Hold on. You're nullifying THE FACT OF WHAT WHITE PEOPLE DO WITH GUNS. YES, YOU ARE. YOU'RE NULLIFYING THAT. WHITE PEOPLE GO KILL schools full of kids.

[00:13:31]>> No, no. They kill schools full of kids.

[00:13:34]They walk in trenches and KILL PEOPLE.

[00:13:36]THEY DO ALL TYPE OF weird guns.

[00:13:39]>> Bullets have names, [laughter] >> man. Come on, man.

[00:13:43]Come on. Oh my. Hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on. Everybody pause. Everybody pause.

[00:13:48]>> We are moving the topic. I don't hear what these white boys are doing in schools in these pictures. Let's stick to Carmelo. He was found guilty, sentenced to 35 years. We already had Dalon and Mr. Pullup saying that he should have been found innocent. Now, for the other people, you guys said his charges should have been different. Why do you think his charges should have been different?

[00:14:11][laughter] I think >> wait one m hold on hold on you go first you ain't been talking >> okay the reason I think that the charges should have been manslaughter is because I feel like in murder one right it means intent I don't believe that he got up that morning with an intent to kill somebody I think that he shouldn't have had a knife at a sport event because you can't have it there but murder one is like intent like he got up that morning you know and it goes For me, it goes back to scientific fact about frontal loes, about brains not being fully developed at that age, about all of the things with the youth. I think 35 is steep because I don't think he intended to kill him. Now, I guess the argument could be once you stab somebody, you whatever happens, you have to be ready.

[00:15:00]You don't stab somebody just to get them off you or cut you or, you know, there's a number of things. He felt outnumbered.

[00:15:06]It was two of them. It was two twins.

[00:15:08]But I I don't know. Maybe I'm biased cuz he is a black boy and I I'm a nurturer and so I feel like maybe as a woman I'm I'm biased for young black kids. So I'm like damn 35 is steep for him. But I guess if the shoe was on the other foot and it was my kid >> who got you want 35 >> 35. So I would want death. I would want I would say I would say let him out so we could take his life. I want >> if it was a white man that did it to black >> I think that was I think it was >> even if he was black even if it was a black person that did it to a black person it's still bad but he shouldn't have got 35 cuz it wasn't premeditated premeditated hold on let me finish hold on let me finish but when I look at the facts right I think I think the way that they are painting him like a thug is crazy as hell because Austin beat the [ __ ] out of his daddy his daddy was at court with a cast on the boy is out of control you like this is what they do. They get in a lot of fight. Hold on. Hold on. Yeah. So, I don't think that it was just like, "Oh, get out the tent." And then, you know, he got the knife out and stabbed him. I do think some words was exchanged. It's crazy that the world we live in. Nobody has a video of them exchanging words or how it went down. People record everything every day. There's not one video under the tent. It just little it looked a little suspicious to me, but I could be, like I said, I could be biased because I do like to protect young black kids. Do you know? So I could be biased.

[00:16:30]I could admit that.

[00:16:31]>> I guess there was not enough evidence to support what he did.

[00:16:35]>> But does it does a push equal a stab?

[00:16:40]>> Premeditated. It wasn't premeditated though.

[00:16:43]>> A push does not You're right. A push does not warrant a stab. Right. So I have a concealed carry before I can fire up on somebody in the state that I live in. I have to do everything I can do to get away. I can't shoot you. be if if it's three people getting on me, I can shoot y'all because three people jumping on one person could result in death. If they beat me bad enough, I could die.

[00:17:02]But if it's just one person that shoves me, I have to remove myself. I have to run away. I have to get out the way. I have to do everything I can to get out the way before I harm you and you can only have a weapon. I can't >> laws are a little different though.

[00:17:15]They're in Texas, so Texas laws is a little different. I don't think our laws is like that. Like if you threatened, >> I think we can shoot.

[00:17:24]>> Don't quote me.

[00:17:25]>> Okay.

[00:17:25]>> Yeah.

[00:17:29]>> You can stand your ground.

[00:17:31]>> Yeah. Stand your ground. Self-defense.

[00:17:32]Sorry. Go ahead. Okay. So, even if the other person doesn't have a weapon in Texas, weapons can be hands though.

[00:17:39]People can die from hands though.

[00:17:43]>> Let Dobby get some. Let Dobby get something.

[00:17:45]>> I can't I can't get nothing, man.

[00:17:47]>> Go ahead. Take it. You got to take it.

[00:17:49]If they don't give it to you, you got to take it.

[00:17:52][laughter] >> Take that sample is crazy.

[00:17:56]>> I mean, like >> if them women don't give it to you, take it. Hey, man.

[00:18:04]>> You can stand your ground. However, like in the age of technology and surveillance everywhere, if someone gets an angle on you where you had ways to escape and you didn't, it's not stand your ground can be a really sticky thing. And I know this because I dedicated like three years of my life just seeing a lot of violence within our community. Um, and like someone to go buy a gun, but for women, for example, women are seven times more likely to go to the gun store, buy a gun, and then say she's trying to defend herself, get disarmed, and that gun get used against her. Seven times more likely. So, you know, and then a lot of these um like like we're looking right here, weapons used in court cases, a lot of these things can keep our people in the judicial system. So, I really wanted to learn these gun laws. And a lot of people think just because you can stand your ground that just looks so black and white and it's really not. You really have to have a clear-cut case that you cannot just like SJ was saying that you cannot evade like you had to meet that front on before that law can kick into effect or it's highly debatable and most likely you're gonna result with some jail time. I will say >> if you're a black if you're a black man, I know y'all don't like to talk about race, but if you're a black man and you and you um hold your ground against a Jewish person or white, Asian, whatever, that law, >> they gonna pick that apart going to jail.

[00:19:34]>> Pick that apart.

[00:19:35]>> Wait, wait, wait. But that law, >> that law would not affect you. It would have nothing to do with you because you was black. But if a white person or Jewish or Asian holds his ground against a black person, then then that uh stand your ground law will go into effect.

[00:19:56]>> Trayvon, let me just finish. The reason for that is The reason for that is black lives are worth less. They're worth less than others. I Hey, it is. That's a fact.

[00:20:13]>> Yeah, I can't I can't agree with that.

[00:20:15]But I will say this along with the along with the along man, I can never according to my children.

[00:20:24]You know what I mean? Compared to compared to me, >> but I will say you also got that you also have a c along with the stand your ground.

[00:20:33]>> You have what's called a castle doctrine as well, which is basically like stand your ground for your home. But it doesn't mean just because you see somebody outside that you can just start shooting out your window and kill you.

[00:20:44]>> No, not where I'm from. No, you got to let somebody steal your car.

[00:20:48]>> Shampoo.

[00:20:50]How you see him as a >> threat? Do not hang on.

[00:20:54]>> HE'S IN NEW YORK. THAT'S WHERE HE LIVES.

[00:20:56]>> That's what I'm saying. He don't need to leave New York.

[00:20:59]>> But you're not listening. You're not listening. If you could shoot, if you shoot your if you if you see somebody out in front of your house at night and you start shooting at them and you're white and they're black, you will be justified.

[00:21:14]>> Damn. What y >> about that? Is that >> I will say I will say the shampoo.

[00:21:21]>> Why y'all trying to >> shampoo? Calm down, MAN. BECAUSE YOU'RE TRYING TO MAKE YOU'RE trying to make you trying to make a movie out of something that that's just that's what it is. If you black >> would you would you would you would you say that is technically [snorts] or like historically that's how the laws have been used against us? Would you say that's what the law stands for or how it's been manipulated to allow you know certain people like that get off?

[00:21:50]>> I don't know. I don't know what it is. I know in every situation when when things like this happens, it's justified if the perpetrator is black.

[00:22:04]If the perpetrator is white, if a guy is in the subway and a black dude is acting up in the subway and a white man, Superman, you know, to the rescue comes and chokes the guy. It was a real case in New York. Choked the [ __ ] out of him till he died. He got off >> because he WAS BLACK.

[00:22:25]>> THAT'S NOT WHY THAT'S not why shampoo >> to this Carmelo Anthony thing. I think if he's going to get 35 years then the appeal is the smart move >> because the appeal would get him to lesser time like Anton Daniel talking about >> and he could do that without a trial >> or he could take the appeal and go right back to trial. Whole new set of jurors.

[00:22:48]So, I mean, if you care about the young man, because I mean, I I think life is just >> Yeah. I think his life is just like, like I said earlier, it's sad to see cases like this. Whether you agree or disagree, it's it's still sad. And it's, you know, it makes you wonder and think about what you could do differently to help your people, but the the the appeal is the smartest option. I'm glad like soon as that he got the he got the >> verdict, he went straight to that appeal process >> and and there was a a black attorney on the uh airwaves talking about how um the prosecutors and all of them got together and didn't have uh cameras kept all of the case something. He was talking about all of these reasons why um the appeal might work because again he had a he was a straight A student yada yada yada but the only thing against him that strike against him is his [ __ ] color. That's the only thing he had.

[00:23:47]>> Not not not that he killed somebody.

[00:23:50]That's not a strike.

[00:23:51]>> No no that's a strike. THAT'S A NO, NO.

[00:23:53]>> Not not that he carried a weapon on school grounds. That's not a strike either.

[00:23:57]>> Yes. Yes. Yeah. That's a That's a big strike.

[00:24:00]>> Yeah. I mean, it's just not the main >> The main >> I got I got a question.

[00:24:05]>> Color. The main strike is his color.

[00:24:08]>> The crazy part about it >> that that's the main strike. He killed somebody. I think the killing somebody is is worse than his him being black. I think >> the crazy it was still manslaughter. It wasn't premeditated. That's [ __ ] up about the situation. You know what I'm saying? It wasn't premeditated.

[00:24:26]>> You know what I'm saying? If he plotted it out and put it like this, if dude would have whooped his ass and he went home and got something and came back and killed him, different story. Different story.

[00:24:35]>> Okay. So, so, so, so for people that do agree with >> Sorry. Go ahead, Dar.

[00:24:42]>> No, I was just Last thing, Don, I appreciate your patience. For people that do agree with the verdict though and in situations like this involving minors committing serious offenses, like do we believe that those people do deserve second chances or or should a seven 15 16 17 year old that commits a crime, should they just be locked up for the rest of their life? Like what y'all think about?

[00:25:06]>> No, they be locked up for the rest of >> I don't believe I don't definitely don't believe up that long anyway.

[00:25:12]>> That's a child.

[00:25:14]>> What?

[00:25:15]I feel I feel like it's it's still I feel like it's still insensitive when we were just talking about the black boy that got shot and killed and we had all of the compassion for that little boy.

[00:25:28]But because it's a white boy, it's like where's the compassion for the white dying?