Texas NAACP President Helps Lead New Pro Bono Appeal Team
A new team of appellate, civil rights and criminal defense attorneys has taken on the case of Karmelo Anthony, filing a substitution of counsel as they prepare to pursue an appeal following his murder conviction in the death of Austin Metcalf.
Anthony, 19, was recently sentenced to 35 years in prison after being convicted in connection with the fatal stabbing of Metcalf, 17, during a high school track meet in Frisco, Texas. The case has drawn national attention, public debate and continued scrutiny over the trial, the jury and the competing claims raised during the proceedings.
The new legal team said it will serve pro bono and conduct a “fresh, independent review” of the trial record while pursuing all available avenues of appeal.
“Our responsibility is to determine whether a legal error occurred and to ensure that every issue supported by the record is fully and vigorously presented on appeal,” the team said in a statement. “The appellate process exists for precisely this purpose.”
Pro Bono Team Includes Appellate, Civil Rights And Criminal Defense Lawyers
The legal effort is being led by Russell Wilson II of the Law Office of Russell Wilson II; Gary Bledsoe of the Bledsoe Law Firm PLLC and President of the Texas NAACP; Michael L. Ware of the Law Office of Michael Ware; Brooke Cluse of Ben Crump Law; Sean Daredia of Daredia Law Firm; and Justin A. Moore of Stafford Moore PLLC.
Wilson, a Dallas trial and appellate attorney, has been Board Certified in Criminal Law since 2003 and licensed in Texas since 1995. He previously directed the Dallas County District Attorney’s Conviction Integrity Unit and has argued state and federal cases across a legal career spanning three decades.
Bledsoe has served as President of the Texas NAACP since 1991 and as a member of the NAACP National Board of Directors since 2003. An Austin-based attorney admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court and the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, Bledsoe has also served as Acting Dean of the Thurgood Marshall School of Law at Texas Southern University.
Also Read: Karmelo Anthony Video Evidence Released By Texas Judge
Ware, who has been board-certified in criminal law since 1990, brings four decades of trial and appellate experience in state and federal courts. He also helped establish a conviction integrity unit while serving in the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office and was inducted into the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers’ Hall of Fame in 2025.
Cluse, a civil rights attorney and Chief of Staff to Ben Crump, previously worked as a public defender in Houston and has litigated high-profile civil rights matters. Daredia is a nationally recognized criminal defense attorney whose work includes murder and capital murder cases. Moore focuses on criminal defense, post-conviction advocacy and complex litigation, including clemency and civil rights matters.
Appeal Will Focus On Trial Record And Possible Legal Error
The announcement comes shortly after portions of trial evidence, including body camera footage and surveillance video, were released publicly. The footage showed moments after the fatal stabbing and Anthony’s arrest, including Anthony telling an officer that Metcalf “put his hands on me,” a claim tied to the defense’s self-defense argument.
The jury rejected that argument and convicted Anthony of murder. The appeal will not retry the entire case, but instead will focus on whether legal errors occurred during the trial that could have affected the verdict, sentence or fairness of the proceedings.
In its statement, the new defense team acknowledged the gravity of the case, saying it recognizes “the profound loss suffered by one young man’s family and the uncertainty facing another.”
For now, the case moves from the trial court into a new phase, one that will center on the official record, appellate arguments and whether Anthony’s conviction withstands further legal review.
