Karmelo Anthony has secured a new legal team, including a group of pro bono high-profile appellate, civil rights, and criminal defense attorneys who are ready to fight his murder conviction and 35-year prison sentence in the April 2025 fatal stabbing of Austin Metcalf, 17, in Frisco, Texas.
On June 9, following a week-long trial, Texas District Court Judge John Roach Jr., a White man, read the verdict after an all-White jury deliberated for less than 2 hours. They convicted Anthony of first-degree murder.
Hours later, the judge sentenced the 19-year-old to 35 years in prison, eligible for parole in 17-and-a-half years. Anthony’s conviction and sentencing caused outrage, with celebrities and more calling it “excessive” and “unjust.”
The teen’s parents, Andrew Anthony and Kala Hayes Anthony, slammed the unfair trial. While speaking out, the parents said they played by the rules: they got a White attorney, sat back to let them work, and this was the end result. They vowed to continue fighting for justice — and so did civil rights attorney Lee Merritt, Esq.
Karmelo Anthony Retains New Legal Team To Appeal Austin Metcalf Murder Conviction And 35-Year Prison Sentence
On Monday (June 22), he wrote on social media that immediately after Anthony’s conviction, his father reached out for help in assembling a new legal team to fight on his appeal. Merritt said he’s been working nonstop to fulfill the request.
As of June 22, the family secured a pro bono (“for the public good”), aka uncompensated, team of lawyers. The new dream team for Karmelo Anthony includes: Lead Counsel Russell Wilson II (of Dallas, Texas); Second Chair Michael L. Ware (of Fort Worth, Texas); Third Chair Gary L. Bledsoe (of Austin, Texas); Co-Counsel Brooke Cluse (of Frisco, Texas and from Ben Crump’s law firm); Co-Counsel Sean Daredia (of Dallas, Texas); and Co-Counsel Justin A. Moore (of Dallas, Texas).
The group statement read:
“Our appellate team has been retained following the conviction to conduct a fresh, independent review of the trial record. We recognize the profound loss suffered by one young man’s family and the uncertainty facing another, and we extend our respect to everyone whose lives have been forever changed by these events. Our responsibility is to determine whether a legal error occurred and to ensure that every issue supported by the record is fully and vigorously presented on appeal. The appellate process exists for precisely this purpose.”
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