AIBU to think USA has gone crazy - Karmelo Anthony is a murderer not a victim

[Neutralnames]

From what I have read, Karmelo Anthony (who is black African American) took a concealed knife to a track event. When it started raining he ran to another team's tent to shelter. He was told to leave by a white athlete called Austin Metcalfe. KA refused saying ' 'Touch me and see what happens', According to one account I read he was repeatedly told to leave and replied the same way each time. Austin Metcalfe then pushed KA to get him to leave and KA pulled out the knife and stabbed AM in the chest, killing him.

Apparently sections of America are outraged that KA has now been convicted of murder. Possible sentence range in America is 5 to 99 years for this offence and he got 35 years.

I don't understand how this is not murder. In UK law if you can run away you must, and he didn't. In UK law if you kill someone when you could have run, you will be tried for murder.

KA took a knife. He could have left (even if he thought it was a dick move to ask him to leave when it was raining - you can't murder people for being dickish about their gazebo) but chose to not to, escalating the situation with threatening language and then stabbed a young man in the chest.

I just think something has gone terribly wrong in USA society where this man is treated as a victim, not the person who he killed, and this case is regarded as an injustice against him. I hope the UK does not go down this route.

Drunk drivers don’t get convicted of 1st degree murder.
No one is saying he shouldn’t go down for unlawful killing, we are simply pointing out that the killing doesn’t meet the legal requirements for the worst degree of murder- 1st degree.

Depends on the state as to the ability to leave. Some states have a hold your ground exception which means you can use deadly force on an aggressor even if you can leave or use less force.

And bear in mind he shouldn’t have even been at the event (KA). He was suspended from school for having a weapon and banned from athletic events but he turned up anyway.

To the poster who keeps implying KA was scared because of the shove. 12 witnesses all stated he was the aggressor, not Austin.

'don’t think he coldly planned to murder anyone when he went out that evening to the track meet.'

Maybe not but clearly with a weapon he was happy to do it anyway. Not like he pushed him and he fell and cracked his head and died. That would have obviously been tragic but not murder. This was murder.

Murder, so do you think it was 1st, 2nd or 3rd degree murder? And if so why?
(hoping you will look up the difference and realise….hmmm this wasn’t 1st degree)

I just want to point out that Texas doesn’t have degrees of murder. You’re getting confused between degrees of murder and degrees of felony.
Murder is a first degree felony.
In Texas, premeditation is not required for a murder charge.
The most serious charge is Capital murder.
Karmelo Anthony was not convicted or charged with capital murder.

You need to read up about Texas law.

Edits cos I missed a few things.

If you're scared, you run. You don't start stabbing!

To ‘de-escalate’, somebody else must have done something to ‘escalate’. Who escalated to start with?

Texas doesn't have 3rd degree murder convictions?

Except that this wasm't set up to be orivate and schools have their own gazebos. Also even KA's friends admitted that he was the aggressor.

It's not self defence to stab someone to death when all they've done is push you a but after you refused to leave. I agree they shouldn't have told him to leave but his actions were disproportionate and totally unnecessary. If he felt threatened he could have left the tent. He stabbed hard enough to kill, that takes effort, and he got the sentence he deserves.

Perhaps you've never lost someone you love to murder by stabbing but I have and there no sentence long enough to atone for it.

Yes when you read this article, its clear the charge and conviction was right

https://www.cbsnews.com/texas/news/whats-the-difference-manslaughter-murder-karmelo-anthony-trial-austin-metcalf-stabbing/

Don't be silly. Of course it's race baiting given what's currently going on in the UK. Op is trying to justify the riots in Southampton and Belfast by saying we need to take action now and put people of colour in their place so we don't become like the US. Especially considering in the US blacks are lynched for breakfast op's post really doesn't make sense unless they have posted purely to race bait.

Having said that of course KA is a murderer as was proven by their justice system and he is doing pretty long time. In a country of 300000000 people you will always find some who will support anything.

However do we have to dig up every murder or atrocity committed by a person of colour and every single comment that some nutter has uttered in their support to vilify people of colour? Because that is all that this is about. Completely random case to make the point that people of colour are bad and unless you show them who is the boss they will ruin this country.