Accused Austin Metcalf killer won't face death penalty or life without parole: DA
Karmelo Anthony, the 17-year-old suspect in the stabbing death of Frisco, Texas track star Austin Metcalf, cannot face the death penalty or life without parole, according to Collin County District Attorney Greg Willis.
Willis explained to WFAA that prosecutors cannot seek the death penalty or life without parole because of a Supreme Court ruling in a case called Roper v. Simmons from 2005, that excludes juveniles from those punishments.
"The Supreme Court has said not only can you not seek the death penalty against someone who committed a crime when they’re 17, you can’t even get them life without parole," he said. "That would not be something we could do even if we wanted to."
Anthony has been charged with first-degree murder in Metcalf's death. The pair went to different Frisco high schools, but were both at Kuykendall Stadium on April 2 for a track meet, where the alleged stabbing occurred.
Asked whether a trial would be moved outside of Collin County, Willis says that's up to the judge.
"Ultimately, that’ll be a judge’s decision to make at the time of trial, but, yes, this happened in Collin County. I want Collin County citizens to be able to decide this," he said.
Fox News has confirmed that Anthony's bond hearing, where his new attorneys plan to argue against his current $1 million bail, is scheduled for Monday morning at 10:00 a.m.
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While the hearing will be open to the public, cameras will not be allowed inside the courtroom and there will be no live stream of the proceedings.
An online fundraising campaign for Anthony has climbed steadily all week, and has now surpassed $300,000.
Meanwhile, Dallas activist and head of an organization called Next Generation Action Network Dominique Alexander met with Frisco Police Tuesday behind closed doors.
Police refused to comment after the meeting, but Alexander held a press conference and told reporters he asked police for increased protection of the Anthony home, claiming that their address had been maliciously shared online.
"We have saw so many different hateful images, just hateful things and the Next Generation Action Network wants to reiterate Karmelo Anthony has a right to a fair trial, unbiased and removed of racial hate and bigotry," said Alexander.
Alexander has been critical of police and the justice system in the past.
Next Generation Action Network held a "George Floyd Week" in 2021 to commemorate Floyd's death the prior year, according to Spectrum News 1.
"The movement for Black lives must win, that everyone should be protected, and that the statehood of policing must change," he told the news outlet at the time.
"Like, one of the things I always say is that every victim, every family doesn't get the same attention like a George Floyd or a Breonna Taylor," he said. "It does not mean that their issues are not important, it just means that this oppressive system has won to suppress the facts about the case."
Anderson did not return a comment request.
The arrest report from the incident paints a clear picture of what the police and witnesses claim happened during the stabbing inside the Memorial High School track team's tent.
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Metcalf reportedly told Anthony that he needed to move out of the Memorial team's tent, a witness told Frisco police. The report noted that Anthony "grabbed his bag, opened it and reached inside it" and said, "Touch me and see what happens."
Metcalf then pushed Anthony out of the tent, according to the report.
In the next moment, the witness told police that Anthony "reached into his bag and the male took a knife out of the bag and stabbed Austin."
A school resource officer was the first to respond to the scene, and handcuffed Anthony, noting that there was blood on the suspect's left middle finger.
"I was protecting myself," Anthony said. "He put his hands on me."
One officer at the scene referred to Anthony as the alleged suspect, and Anthony made a "spontaneous statement," according to the report: "I'm not alleged, I did it."
Anthony also asked the officers if Metcalf was "going to be OK" and asked if what happened could be considered "self-defense," the report said.
Fox News' Sarah Rumpf-Whitten and Brooke Taylor contributed to this report.