A Texas judge heard arguments Thursday in the Carmelo Anthony case over whether he should get a new trial after his murder conviction and 35-year sentence in the fatal stabbing of Austin Metcalf. The hearing came two months after a Collin County jury found Anthony, 19, guilty.
The same jury needed four days of testimony and three hours of deliberation to reach the guilty verdict on June 9. It then spent several more hours deciding punishment before sentencing him to 35 years in prison.
Judge John Roach hearing
The post-trial hearing was still underway when the arguments were presented. Judge John Roach was at the center of the dispute before Judge Sid Harle later granted the defense's motion to recuse Roach from any further matters in the Anthony case.
Harle wrote in an order issued Wednesday that there were grounds for recusal because the evidence adduced at the hearing was such that the respondent judge's impartiality might rea
Defense and prosecution
Anthony's attorneys said in a motion that he was coerced into waiving his right to testify. Russell Wilson said Anthony decided not to testify because he believed the prosecution would not adhere to the agreement not to question him about his past behavior beyond what happened during the confrontation at the track meet.
Wilson also said the defense was denied a "complete defense." In that account, the issue was not just whether Anthony took the stand but whether the jury heard testimony under the limits the defense believed had been set.
Bill Wirskye pushed back, saying the post-trial attorneys "filed a motion containing several inaccurate characterizations of the trial proceedings." He also said, "I and the entire prosecution team conducted this trial ethically and in full compliance with the Court's ruling and any agreements with defense counsel."
Bill Wirskye on the record
Wirskye said he offered the agreement to "stay away from historical character and stick to the facts -- what happened under the tent" and said the goal was to "keep the peace" amid public vitriol over the case. He added, "There's nothing better in my business than a testifying defendant."
During the hearing, Derrick Jackson testified about courtroom protocols and Mike Howard testified about character evidence that was not brought up at trial. The judge will now decide whether the arguments justify a new trial, with Anthony already serving the 35-year sentence that followed the June 9 verdict.
