Karmelo Anthony:  Asking the Right Question

If you ask the wrong question, you always end up with the wrong answer.

https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/frisco-murder-trial/karmelo-anthony-guilty-verdict-track-meet-stabbing-trial-divisive-reactions-north-texans/287-55c62e8d-aace-498d-b4b8-69e50d84ef96

As a Registered Nurse, I was involved in saving the life of a mother who had a splenic artery aneurysm rupture after the birth of her seventh child.  As she was rushed into the operating room our staff allowed her priest to enter the room in full vestments to give the last rites immediately prior to surgery. We entered the room knowing that it was most likely that she would not survive.  I quit counting after obtaining thirteen units of packed red blood cells and FFP (fresh frozen plasma) from the blood bank.  Going into the abdomen, the surgeon had to locate the bleed.  In what is a miraculous turn of events, her life was saved.  And I can attest that when I finally crawled into bed early the next morning, I was thoroughly exhausted.

I have cared for a young boy who had a perforated colon from his father shoving a broomstick up his rectum.  His life was saved.  But his life would forever retain a constant reminder of his trauma. He had a permanent colostomy.

My care involved a woman who essentially lost the lower half of her body in a motorcycle accident.  I do not care to describe her condition.  She did not perish from her trauma.  A team of surgeons saved her life.

I have cared for individuals with gunshot wounds and traumatic stab wounds.  I cared for a woman who lost an eye because of a brutal rape.  That one - was tough on me as a woman.

So here  is the wrong question:  Did Austin Metcalf lose his life because of race?

Of course not!

Austin Metcalf lost his life because of massive trauma to his cardiac tissue.  And he lost his life when he refused to be provoked into a fight. 

I could have been part of a large medical team frantically seeking to save Austin's life. It does not matter.  There is no "save" when the blade of a knife enters the heart.  Severe cardiac trauma brings death.  And in the case of Austin Metcalf, his death was almost immediate.

The jury gave their verdict.  

Karmelo Anthony is guilty of murder because of the trauma he visited on his victim.   Karmelo Anthony is a murderer.  And for his crime, he must be stripped of his freedom.