Jeff Metcalf Refuses To Apologize For Racism In New Interview After Judge Denies Karmelo Anthony New Trial [Op-Ed]

Karmelo Anthony’s request for a new trial has been denied despite the revelation of the racist and violent history of his victim, Austin Metcalf. Now, Metcalf’s father, Jeff Metcalf, who has been criticized for his own displays of racism, is responding to the news in a fresh interview by declaring that “there’s no such thing” as justice for him or his family.

“No. There’s no such thing. I got handed a life sentence,” Metcalf said when asked whether he felt he received justice during an interview with ABC News.

“So did Meghan, Hunter. So did everybody else in my family and her family,” he continued, referring to Austin’s mother, Meghan Metcalf, and twin brother, Hunter Metcalf. “We don’t ever get to see Austin again. We don’t get to talk to him, hug him.”

Metcalf said he forgave Anthony, but said he wouldn’t apologize for the numerous racist remarks he made towards Anthony and Black people in general — such as referring to Anthony as a “watermelon felon“— during a podcast interview shortly after Anthony was sentenced to 35 years in prison, a sentence that came the same day he was convicted of murder by a Texas jury.

In fact, Metcalf blamed the “other side” for making the case about race — because no matter how racist a racist is, they’ll still deny that race plays a part in any situation when they just don’t want to hear about it.

Whether one believes Anthony is guilty of murder or not, there’s no denying that his being Black and Austin being white is what, in and of itself, brought race to the forefront of the case, and if the races were reversed, a lot of people’s opinions would have been different, albeit on both sides of the divide.

Right now, there’s a viral social media post in which someone who seems to be purporting to be a white Texas Roadhouse employee, and part of a 400,000-member online white servers group, is telling Black people everywhere that white servers are spitting on our food just because we’re Black. The anonymous racist cited “this nonsense with this Karmelo the candy bar Anthony crap” as the reason Black people everywhere, regardless of whether they’ve even spoken on the case, should be attacked.

So, yeah — that racial divide didn’t start with Karmelo Anthony, and it certainly won’t end there.

Anyway, District Judge Michael Chitty denied Anthony’s motion for a new trial this week, saying, “Upon reviewing the motion, the record, the evidence and argument, the briefs, and the relevant case law, the Court has determined the motion should be denied.” As we previously reported, Anthony’s new legal team argued that his prior team entered into an agreement with the prosecution that hid the pasts of both Anthony and Metcalf, affected Anthony’s ability to testify on his own behalf, and that their client had no say in the agreement.

“We believe the issues raised in our motion are substantial and deserve meaningful appellate review. The denial of our motion does not end this case,” Russell Wilson, an appellate lawyer for Anthony, said in a statement Saturday. He also said his team will continue an appeal in the Fifth Court of Appeals and “pursue every legal remedy available to our client.”

SEE ALSO:

Texas Reporter Makes ‘Gorilla’ Reference During Karmelo Anthony Trial

Karmelo Anthony: Austin Metcalf’s History Of Racism And Violence