No Black jurors selected in Frisco track meet stabbing trial
Out of the 18 people selected as the jury in the Frisco track meet stabbing trial, none were Black, according to KDFW-TV.
The jury was seated after three days of the selection process, with Collin County Judge John Roach excusing 150 people after meeting with attorneys Wednesday afternoon.
Roach gave each side an hour and 45 minutes to ask questions of the jury pool, according to KDFW. Attorneys for the prosecution asked potential jurors if they had heard about the case, and about how they felt about potentially serving on the jury.
“A handful” of people told prosecutors that the racial element of the case could impact, for a variety of reasons, their ability to render fair judgment.
For the defense, attorneys asked whether potential jurors would hold it against the accused, 18-year-old Karmelo Anthony, who is Black, if he chose not to testify on his own behalf, according to KDFW. Yet another handful said that they would.
The last three Black candidates were struck from the jury pool for a “race-neutral” reason, prosecutors said. The three were educators, and the judge agreed with prosecutors, according to the Dallas Morning News. Otherwise, the jury consists of a mix of men and women.
The prosecution did not want educators on the jury because the incident in question happened at a school event between two school-aged boys, according to KDFW.
The Next Generation Action Network, a group that represents Anthony and his family, said they were “outraged” by the decision, and that the jury selection process raised “serious concerns about fairness and equal justice.”
The jury is set to decide whether Anthony is guilty of murdering 17-year-old Austin Metcalf, who is white, during the Frisco ISD meet last year, with opening statements set for Thursday morning.
Roach, who in May set a series of strict guidelines for media coverage of the trial, asked the jurors not to discuss the case with anyone or to watch TV, read, or listen to radio about the case, according to WFAA. The defense chose for the jury to determine the punishment, instead of the judge.
If Anthony is convicted, he faces five years to life in prison.
Because of Anthony’s age, Texas law allows him to be tried as an adult for the crime, but does not allow for the death penalty to be considered.
