Karmelo Anthony was 17 years old, a Black high school student at a track meet. It was raining. He stepped under a tent to get out of the weather. He says the students there surrounded him, that he was outnumbered and afraid, and that when it turned physical he believed he had to protect himself. His lawyers argued self-defense. An all‑white jury, told to treat him as an adult, convicted him of first‑degree murder.

We know that our broken criminal justice system regularly denies Black people fair treatment and outcomes. And we know that too often, Black teens and boys are viewed and punished as adults in the eyes of the public and the law. Innocent until proven guilty has never applied to us—especially when the victims are white. 

The court of public opinion found 19-year-old Karmelo Anthony guilty long before the trial started. After only nine days, jurors concluded in court, because for well over a year, the case was publicized and scrutinized by the media, which shaped the biased narrative around the case. From the million-dollar bail that was later reduced to 250k, to rampant misinformation pushed by right-wing influencers, to the fact that every single Black juror was dismissed, it’s clear that Karmelo was denied due process.

Justice is not defined solely by a verdict—it is defined by whether the process is fair, impartial, and worthy of public trust. 

Here is the Petition:

In a country where you are supposed to be considered innocent until proven guilty, Black Americans know the court of public opinion operates to ensure this is never how we are treated in the media and in the criminal justice system, and the proof is in the outcomes.  

Karmelo Anthony’s case is not simply a glimpse into the old playbook of the criminal justice system; it's a reminder of the rights and fairness Black Americans are not afforded, even in 2026. As we grapple with and watch our children get killed at the hands of the system day after day, with little to no regard or consequence, we have to ask ourselves a serious question in this case—was this a fair trial? The facts show that it was not:

• He was 17 when the incident occurred, and he was still tried as an adult.
• After only a 9-day trial, the jury took less than 3 hours to deliberate and returned a verdict for First Degree murder.
• Of the multiracial jury pool, not a single Black juror was selected, despite our guaranteed constitutional right, Karmelo did not have a jury of his peers.  
• Karmelo was sentenced to 35 years—a much harsher, longer sentence when compared to similar cases where the defendants were white teens.

We demand justice and fairness because we know that too often, the hand of the law falls the heaviest and swiftest on the members of our community. We demand justice because Black people in America still do not have equal access to the justice system. 

We stand for truth.

We stand for justice.

We stand with Karmelo. We call on Texas’s 296th district court to grant Karmelo Anthony a new trial.