Judge Joe Brown Karmelo Anthony (Photos via Judge Joe Brown & X)
Judge Joe Brown has offered a surprising take on the Karmelo Anthony case, implying that the teenager is a “punk.”

Brown had initially defended Anthony, criticizing his high $1 million bond, which he said was excessive and unwarranted. He pointed out that bail is put in place to ensure a defendant attends court, not to punish them.

Brown, who hosted a reality TV court show, was a very real judge and gained fame as the first African-American prosecutor in Memphis, so he knows the law like the back of his hand. He noted that if Anthony had no prior criminal record and didn’t pose a flight risk, he should be allowed a reasonable bond and a pretrial release.

The figure was eventually reduced to $250,000, with Anthony released on house arrest.

Judge Joe Brown Calls Out Karmelo Anthony For “Punk Move”

Karmelo Anthony (Photo via Google)
In his latest say on the matter, which comes after Anthony, now 18, was indicted on a first-degree murder charge, Brown branded him a “punk.” A video of the fight that led to Anthony st@bbing and killing Austin Metcalf has also been released and is said to paint the defendant in a very bad light.

Brown, 77, made an appearance on former NBA first-overall pick Kwame Brown’s ‘Bust Life’ podcast this week and said that the charge was “appropriate.”

He also pointed out that Karmelo Anthony was the captain of his football team and should have embraced physicality instead of st@bbing someone he felt was going to beat him up.

“What I don’t get is the punk move of having to st@b somebody to d3ath because he might get his butt beat,” he told Brown (the other Brown).

Brown suggested that Anthony could have stood his ground and fought, run away, or seek vengeance later instead of st@bbing Metcalf.

“Why did he have to kill him?” he asked. “That’s a punk play. That’s part of this thing, emasculating the country where you don’t fight like a man.”

A trial date has not been set for Anthony, who remains under house arrest.