A Massive Sentencing Gap: Karmelo Anthony vs These Non-Black Defendants
Across the country, high-profile homicide cases involving non-Black defendants have ended in acquittals or reduced charges. To some, these results reflect how the justice system is supposed to work– demanding that guilt must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. But for Black Americans, an eerie pattern emerges once you compare these cases to those involving Black defendants, where prosecutors are often seen as pursuing harsher charges and juries are delivering longer sentences.
Studies done by the U.S. Sentencing Commission, The Marshall Project and the Office of Justice Programs have found racial disparities between Black defendants charged with serious crimes versus non-Black defendants. Specifically, Black defendants are more likely to receive harsher sentences compared to other groups when arguing self-defense.
That tension is part of why the case of Karmelo Anthony, a Black Texas teenager sentenced to 35 years for murder, has drawn attention. Supporters argue that his sentence raises questions about consistency, especially after the now-19-year-old claimed self-defense. On the other hand, many argued justice was served.
Caysen Allison
After Anthony’s conviction, folks have drawn eerie comparisons to the divisive case involving a white Texas high schooler, who was accused of fatally stabbing another student on school grounds back in 2022.
Caysen Allison was charged after the fatal stabbing of Belton High School student Joe Ramirez. Allison was found not guilty of murder and manslaughter but convicted of criminally negligent homicide for the 2022 incident, which stemmed from a confrontation in a school bathroom, KCEN-TV reported.
At sentencing, the defense emphasized the context around the fight while the prosecution focused on the loss of life and the consequences of Allison’s actions. The judge handed down a 10-year prison sentence, the maximum allowed under the conviction.
Soon Ja Du
In March 1991, 15-year-old Latasha Harlins entered a Los Angeles convenience store to buy a bottle of orange juice. The store owner, Soon Ja Du, wrongly accused her of stealing after seeing the juice in her backpack. Surveillance footage showed Harlins had money in hand and was attempting to pay, according to the LA Times. After a brief struggle, Harlins turned to leave the store when Du shot her in the back of the head.
A jury convicted Du of voluntary manslaughter, but a judge sentenced her to probation, community service and a fine rather than prison time. The case intensified racial tensions in Los Angeles and became one of the events that helped fuel the 1992 Los Angeles riots.
Daniel Penny
Daniel Penny, a former Marine, was acquitted of criminally negligent homicide in the death of Jordan Neely, who was killed after Penny held him in a chokehold on a New York City subway in 2023.
A jury also dismissed a manslaughter charge, according to PBS. Prosecutors argued Penny used excessive force after Neely, a homeless man experiencing mental illness, made alarming statements on the train. The defense said Penny was acting to protect himself and other passengers until police arrived. Neely’s death was ruled to have resulted from the restraint, but the jury ultimately found reasonable doubt about criminal liability, leading to Penny’s acquittal.
Kyle Rittenhouse
In November 2021, a Wisconsin jury found Kyle Rittenhouse not guilty on all charges stemming from the fatal shooting of two men and the wounding of a third during unrest in Kenosha in August 2020, the Associated Press reported. Rittenhouse, who was 17 at the time, argued that he acted in self-defense after being confronted during protests that followed the police shooting of Jacob Blake. Prosecutors claimed that Rittenhouse provoked the violence by bringing an AR-style rifle to the demonstrations.
After more than three days of deliberations, jurors acquitted him of homicide, attempted homicide and other charges.
James Burke
A Michigan jury found former Warren police officer James Burke not guilty on all charges in connection with a 2024 crash that killed two Black men.
According to Detroit Local 4 News, prosecutors alleged Burke was driving at high speed without emergency lights or sirens when his patrol vehicle struck an SUV turning through an intersection, resulting in the deaths of Cedric Hayden Jr. and Dejuan Pettis. They argued his actions were grossly negligent, while the defense said the collision was an accident and not criminally caused by Burke. After hearing testimony, jurors quickly returned acquittals on all counts. The verdict left the victims’ families grieving and civil lawsuits still pending.
Gerald Stanley
In 2018, the acquittal of Saskatchewan farmer Gerald Stanley in the shooting death of Colten Boushie sparked outrage across Canada. Boushie, a 22-year-old member of the Red Pheasant Cree Nation, was fatally shot after he and friends drove onto Stanley’s farm in 2016.
Stanley argued the gun discharged accidentally, and an all-white jury found him not guilty of second-degree murder and manslaughter, according to the Guardian.
George Zimmerman
In one of the most polarizing cases of the 21st century, George Zimmerman was cleared of all criminal charges in the 2012 shooting death of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed Black teenager. Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer in Sanford, Florida, claimed he fired in self-defense during a struggle with Martin. Prosecutors argued that Zimmerman unnecessarily escalated the encounter after following the teen, NPR reported.
Following two days of deliberations, the jury found insufficient evidence to convict him of murder or manslaughter.
Chikei Rick Chow
In June 2026, a South Carolina jury found convenience store owner Chikei Rick Chow not guilty of murder in the 2023 shooting death of 14-year-old Cyrus Carmack-Belton.
The teen was shot in the back after being chased from a Columbia store following an accusation of shoplifting water bottles, according to the Associated Press. Prosecutors argued Chow acted out of anger and that the teen was fleeing and not threatening anyone, though they acknowledged he had a semiautomatic pistol that fell during the chase. Chow’s defense claimed he fired to protect his son after believing the teen pointed a gun at him.
Aaron Dean
In December 2022, former Fort Worth police officer Aaron Dean was convicted of manslaughter in the 2019 shooting death of Atatiana Jefferson, a 28-year-old woman killed inside her own home during a welfare check, ABC News reported.
Jurors rejected the murder charge but found Dean guilty of reckless conduct after evidence showed he fired through a window while responding to a neighbor’s report of an open door. Dean argued he believed Jefferson posed a threat, while prosecutors said he failed to properly identify himself as police and escalated the situation unnecessarily.
After the guilty verdict, the jury later returned a sentence of 11 years, 10 months and 12 days in prison.
The Case of Elijah McClain
In recent developments in the Elijah McClain case, Colorado’s Court of Appeals has ordered new trials for two paramedics who were previously convicted in connection with his 2019 death, finding that flawed jury instructions may have affected the original verdicts, as we previously told you. McClain, a 23-year-old Black man, died after being stopped by Aurora police, restrained, and injected with ketamine by paramedics during a 2019 encounter in Aurora.
The ruling does not erase all prior accountability in the case. Other officers and responders have faced mixed outcomes, including convictions, acquittals, and sentencing in earlier proceedings.
Johannes Mehserle
A jury found former BART officer Johannes Mehserle guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the 2009 shooting death of Oscar Grant on an Oakland train platform, ABC 7 News reported. Prosecutors had initially charged him with murder, but the jury convicted him of the lesser charge after a brief deliberation.
Mehserle claimed he mistook his handgun for a Taser while trying to subdue Grant during a chaotic arrest following a New Year’s Day disturbance. Mehserle was later sentenced to two years in prison and was released after 11 months in 2011, according to NBC News.
Daniel Pantaleo
A grand jury declined to indict NYPD Officer Daniel Pantaleo in the death of Eric Garner, who died in 2014 after being placed in a chokehold during an arrest for allegedly selling loose cigarettes.
Video of the incident showed Garner repeatedly saying “I can’t breathe” before losing consciousness, sparking nationwide protests and becoming a major symbol of opposition to police brutality. A medical examiner ruled Garner’s death a homicide caused by neck compression. According to PBS, prosecutors said they could not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Pantaleo intentionally violated the law.
