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On Tuesday, the 19-year-old Carmelo Anthony found guilty The murder of 17-year-old Austin Metcalf during a fight at a high school track meet in 2025.
The news sparked tense debate on social media as Anthony, who is Black, was sentenced to 35 years in prison after being convicted by a jury with no Black jurors.
Now, Congressman Randy Fine is fanning the flames of controversy by insisting that Anthony deserves an even harsher sentence.
“Carmelo Anthony deserves the death penalty,” the Florida congressman tweeted this week.
“Anything less is unacceptable.”
Now, Anthony is a teenager who committed a non-premeditated murder during a heated confrontation, which would make him an extremely unlikely candidate for the death penalty.
But Fine doubled down on his comments when TMZ contacted him earlier this week.
“What he did to that child was horrible, and I think it’s important to let our country know that we will not allow that kind of behavior,” Fine told the outlet.
“One of the reasons this message is being sent that strong is because of all the people who didn’t think he should be punished at all.
When the TMZ journalist pointed out that Anthony could have received a lesser murder sentence (and we don’t generally execute teenagers to make a political point in this country), Fine stood his ground.
“I think we need to send a message about behaviors that we will tolerate and behaviors that we will not,” he said.
A Texas jury rejected Anthony’s claim of self-defense, and he was ultimately sentenced to 35 years in prison.
Fine immediately expressed support for a harsher sentence after the verdict was announced, saying that Anthony deserved the death penalty, despite the fact that Texas law prohibited such a sentence due to Anthony’s age at the time of the crime.
His comments immediately sparked a backlash from critics, who accused him of politicizing a tragedy and heightening tensions over an already divisive case.
However, others praised Fine for taking a tough stance in support of the Metcalfe family.
Prosecutors argued that Anthony escalated the dispute and fatally stabbed Metcalf, while defense attorneys said Anthony feared for his safety and acted in self-defense. The jurors ultimately sided with the prosecution and returned a guilty verdict.
Even after the conviction, the case has remained a lightning rod for political commentary, with public figures, activists, and elected officials continuing to debate the sentencing and the broader issues of race, justice, and accountability raised during the trial.
Fine’s latest comments ensure that those debates won’t be ending any time soon.
Supporters argued that the severity of the crime required the harshest punishment available, while opponents pointed out that Anthony was legally ineligible for the death penalty because he was a juvenile when the stabbing occurred.
The congressman’s refusal to soften his position sparked another round of heated debate online, where opinion about the case is deeply divided.
Regardless of Fine’s intentions, the fact is that more than a year after Austin Metcalf took his life, the tragedy is still evoking strong emotions — and politicians like Randy Fine appear determined to put themselves at the center of the conversation.
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