A team of elite civil rights attorneys announced they will represent Karmelo Anthony in the appeal of his murder conviction for fatally stabbing fellow high school athlete Austin Metcalf.
Texas NAACP President Gary Bledsoe, veteran appellate attorney Russell Wilson, civil rights lawyer Brooke Cluse from Ben Crump Law, and others have joined forces in an effort to overturn Anthony’s conviction and 35-year prison sentence, CBS News reported.
They will conduct an independent review of the trial to determine whether any errors occurred during the trial in their pursuit of an appeal, the lawyers said in their announcement on Monday.
They will be working the case pro bono.
“Our appellate team has been retained following the conviction to conduct a fresh, independent review of the trial record,” the group said in a statement.
“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.”
Anthony, 19, was convicted of first-degree murder in Texas and sentenced to 35 years in prison earlier this month for fatally stabbing Metcalf, 17, at a high school track meet in Frisco, Texas, in April 2025.
He filed a notice of appeal less than 24 hours after the verdict.
Anthony, who is locked up in a Texas state prison, claimed in the filing that he is a “penniless, destitute, and indigent person, too poor to employ counsel to represent me on the appeal” — despite his family collecting $625,000 in crowdfunding for his legal defense and “living expenses.”
Anthony and Metcalf clashed when Anthony was sitting in Metcalf’s rival team’s tent during a rain delay at David Kuykendall Stadium. Metcalf repeatedly told him to leave, but Anthony refused, warning, “Touch me and find out.”
Metcalf then pushed Anthony, who pulled out a knife and stabbed Metcalf in the chest, witnesses said.
Metcalf died in his twin brother’s arms.
Anthony’s attorneys claimed the knifing was self-defense, but the jury ultimately convicted him of murder after just over two hours of deliberation.
As the murder case made national headlines, tensions escalated over race, with some of Anthony’s supporters trying to paint Metcalf, who was white, as a bully who targeted Anthony, who is black.
An appeal does not necessarily mean he will face a new trial, and it could take several months for the appeal process to run its course.
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