MISLEADING
Prosecutors struck all Black jurors, but the court accepted their race-neutral justification as educators.
“Peremptory strikes were used during jury selection in the Karmelo Anthony trial to impact the jury's racial makeup.”
During jury selection for the trial of Karmelo Anthony in June 2026, prosecutors used peremptory strikes to remove the final three Black prospective jurors from the panel (KERA News). This action resulted in an all-white jury being seated for a trial involving a Black defendant and a white victim (The Guardian). Anthony’s defense filed a Batson challenge, asserting that the strikes were used to intentionally manipulate the racial makeup of the jury (NewsOne). However, the prosecution provided a race-neutral explanation, claiming the jurors were struck because they were educators of school-aged children (Courthouse News). Judge John Roach Jr. accepted this justification and denied the challenge, though the defense maintains the reason was a pretext and is currently appealing the verdict based on this issue (CBS News; Revolt TV). Readers should consult the official court records and appellate filings to judge the credibility of the prosecution's stated intent for themselves.
Because “trust me bro” isn’t a source.