Understanding the Cyrus Carmack Belton Verdict with Bakari Sellers

Understanding the Cyrus Carmack Belton Verdict with Bakari Sellers

June 17, 2026 · 40 min · Season 5 · Episode 23

About this episode

Cari Champion discusses the Cyrus Carmack-Belton case with Bakari Sellers, exploring the legal complexities and community implications of the verdict.

Cari sits down with Bakari Sellers to talk through the case of 14-year-old Cyrus Carmack-Belton, who was shot in the back after an argument over four bottles of water at a South Carolina gas station, and why the owner, Rick Chow, was acquitted. Bakari lays out how messy the legal reality can be: “there was no shoplifting,” the shooting happened “130 yards away from the store,” and the jury only had two choices, guilty or not guilty of murder, because the defense kept out a lesser charge of involuntary manslaughter could have affected the jury’s ability to choose guilty or place the entire blame on Mr. Chow.  Sellers also names the harder community questions: “there’s a void in the community because we have a Black child that’s dead,” plus “a conversation that has to be had about guns in young people’s hands.” Listeners walk away with the tension between grief, reasonable doubt, and what accountability can look like beyond a courtroom. Connect   @CariChampion @BakariSellers Learn More: Linktree Subscribe   Cari Champion's YOUTUBE Channel See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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