Karmelo Anthony’s family and legal team aren’t accepting that janky guilty verdict without a fight.
Just one month after a completely non-Black Texas jury convicted the now-19-year-old of murdering fellow high school student Austin Metcalf and sentenced him to 35 years behind bars, Anthony’s attorneys are asking the court to hit the reconsider all the circumstances surround the trial. According to TMZ, the defense has filed two major motions, one requesting an entirely new trial, and another demanding that Judge John Roach step aside from any future proceedings in the case.
Anthony’s lawyers argue that Roach shouldn’t be the one deciding whether their client deserves another shot in court, saying a different judge should handle those questions. They’re also asking Roach to recuse himself from all remaining post-trial matters.
The Guardian reports that Anthony’s attorneys claim prosecutors violated his constitutional rights in multiple ways during the trial. Among their biggest arguments is that prosecutors allegedly pressured Anthony into giving up his right to testify in his own defense by warning that doing so would open the door to damaging character evidence. The defense also contends prosecutors broke an off-the-record agreement to avoid introducing evidence about either teenager’s past behavior or reputation.
Anthony’s legal team is also challenging the court’s restrictions on cameras and livestreams, arguing those limits violated his right to a public trial. They further claim the jury instructions improperly weakened the centerpiece of his defense throughout the case, his self-defense argument.
“On a record in which self-defense was the heart of the case, that error was not harmless, and it requires a new trial,” the lawyers wrote in the motion.
Prosecutors, however, are doing their best to put the kibosh on the motions. First Assistant District Attorney Bill Wirskye has rejected the allegations, insisting the trial was conducted ethically and in accordance with the court’s rulings. He said the state will formally respond to the motions in the coming weeks while standing by the jury’s unanimous guilty verdict.
Whether these arguments convince an appellate court remains to be seen, but one thing is clear: Anthony’s legal team is pulling out every possible play in hopes of overturning one of the most closely watched murder convictions in recent Texas history.
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