Karmelo Anthony, ICE Funding and Falling Crime

Earlier this week, a Texas jury found Karmelo Anthony guilty of murder in the 2025 fatal stabbing of fellow high school student Austin Metcalf. The case quickly drew national attention because of the racial dynamics — Anthony is Black and Metcalf was white — and brought out all the ugliness that comes with racial discourse in 2026.

I have a lot of thoughts on this entire situation and may write a separate post about it, but for this roundup, it made me ponder what shapes our assumptions about suspects and victims before all the facts are known.

So here’s my question:

Who gets the benefit of the doubt in a high-profile criminal case?

Did NYPD’s Zone Strategy Cause Crime to Drop? — Vital City
The NYPD says flooding high-crime areas with officers is driving down violence. But a new analysis argues many of those declines may have happened anyway. This debate about what drives crime down will never end, and as someone who covers violence and policing, I wonder how we can get a more definitive answer. [Link]

Gov. Tina Kotek won’t expand restrictions on undercover Oregon plates to agencies helping ICE — Oregon Capital Chronicle
Oregon blocked ICE from receiving undercover license plates but will continue issuing them to other federal agencies that assist with immigration enforcement. This seems more symbolic than anything, but states need to continue standing up to ICE enforcement, however they can. [Link]

House passes $70B bill to fund immigration enforcement for 3 years, sending to Trump — The Associated Press
Congress approved $70 billion for immigration enforcement, providing a major funding boost for the Trump administration’s deportation agenda. America never fails to fund punitive law enforcement tactics that mostly fall on the innocent. [Link]

State AG Declines to Prosecute NYPD Officers Involved in Fatal Motorbike Crash — The City Reporter

New York’s attorney general declined to prosecute officers involved in a fatal dirt-bike collision, despite finding that their actions raised “serious concerns.” Regardless of what the pro-law-enforcement crowd says, never forget how hard it is to hold the police accountable for perceived wrongdoing. [Link]

They Studied Nearly 14,000 People to See How Eviction Rates Are Linked to Gun Violence — The Trace

A new study linked higher eviction rates in Chicago to higher rates of gun violence, highlighting the connection between housing stability and public safety. No matter how much evidence we find connecting gun violence to other socioeconomic factors, “experts” will disregard it. [Link]

I got nothing this week. Should have a major update next week, though!