A jury has decided the fate of a Texas teen who was charged with allegedly stabbing his high school classmate to death in a bathroom in 2022, finding him not guilty of murder and guilty of criminally negligent homicide.

After being unable to reach a verdict on Monday and tabling court till Tuesday, KWTX reported that a Bell County jury announced that they did not find Caysen Allison guilty of murder in the stabbing death of Joe Ramirez Jr. at Belton High School in May 2022. 

The jury found Allison guilty of criminally negligent homicide.

Allison was released under the conditions of his bond, the outlet reported, which will remain in place until his sentencing hearing on June 16, where he faces anywhere from six months to two years in a state prison, in addition to a possible fine of up to $10,000.

TEXAS HIGH SCHOOLER CHARGED WITH MURDER AFTER STABBING CLASSMATE TO DEATH IN BATHROOM: POLICE

Allison had been out on bond, under house arrest, since July 2022 after a judge dropped his $1-million bond down to $175,000 in the stabbing death of Ramirez Jr., according to KWTX. 

The Belton Police Department said that Allison ran away from the school after the stabbing in 2022, but was arrested 20 minutes later.

The fatal altercation happened during a fight in the school’s restroom, according to an arrest affidavit obtained by KWTX. 

The report stated that Allison waived his rights against self-incrimination and admitted to detectives he fatally stabbed Ramirez Jr.

TEEN SUSPECT FREE ON BOND AFTER ALLEGEDLY STABBING TEXAS TRACK STAR AUSTIN METCALF TO DEATH

Jose Luis Ramirez Jr. was fatally stabbed to death inside a bathroom at his Texas high school in May 2022, according to police. (Viktoria Ramirez Facebook)

Officers found Ramirez Jr. suffering from “large puncture wounds to his chest” and he was rushed to a local hospital in critical condition.

At the hospital, KTWX reported that officers noticed Ramirez sustained “multiple stab and slashes injuries along his chest, back, legs and arm.” He was later pronounced dead. 

During previous testimony, one of Allison’s friends, Chris Bittle, described the events leading up to the fatal altercation and being in the school’s bathroom during the fight.

There was a heated argument between Allison and Ramirez at a prom night after party, according Bittle’s previous account. Text messages revealed that Allison sent a text to Bittle after that party asking, “bro, bring me a gun.”

Bittle also recalled what happened the day of the stabbing, explaining that while there was a plan for Allison and Ramirez to fight, they did not plan to fight in school and were surprised to bump into Ramirez and his friends in the school restroom, KTWX reported. Bittle testified he and Allison tried to leave after using the restroom, but Ramirez and his four friends wouldn’t let them.

SUSPECT IN AUSTIN METCALF KILLING MOVED TO ‘UNDISCLOSED LOCATION’ FOR PROTECTION: FAMILY SPOKESMAN

Caysen Allison found not guilty of murder, but guilty of a lesser charge, in the 2022 death of classmate Joe Ramirez (Belton Police Department)

Bittle also claimed he tried to step in once Ramirez punched Allison, but was hit by one of the other teens in the group, which cell phone video of the fight showed. 

Allison’s defense argued he acted in self-defense in a “fight for his life” after he was attacked by Ramirez in the school’s bathroom.

Officers went to Allison’s home following the fight after he fled the scene, where officers overheard him speaking to someone on the phone saying “I did something at school,” and asking them to come and take him to Waco.

Detectives also snapped photos of Allison’s white shoes being covered in blood as he told investigators what kind of knife he used to kill Ramirez and where he had dumped the weapon.

Madison Barnes, Ramirez’s ex-girlfriend and a close friend of Allison’s, testified that Allison made threats against Ramirez to her before the stabbing, according to KWTX. She also told the jury that Allison warned her that he “wanted Joe on life support, wanted to stomp his head in, wanted his jaw dangling from his face, and wanted him in the hospital.”

Ramirez Jr., a senior at the school, was described on a GoFundMe page raising money for his family as a “very kind, loving and gentle young man.”

Allison’s defense attorney, Zachary Boyd, told KWTX that he was happy with the jury’s decision in a very challenging case.

“The Allison family is so sorry for their loss, cause there is no good outcome to this. There is no happy ending in terms of everyone’s going to leave here feeling happy,” Boyd said.

“The world is not black and white. The world is shades of gray and, ultimately, we were left with the question of what do you do when the issue is one of bullying or one of a child who is so scared that he brings a knife to school to defend himself with?”

Nearly three years later, another Texas teen was violently killed while attending a high school track meet.

Karmelo Anthony, the 17-year-old accused of stabbing Frisco, Texas track star Austin Metcalf to death, was released from jail after his bond was dropped from $1 million to $250,000.

Like Allison, Anthony’s bond conditions include house arrest and an ankle monitor, and he will only be able to leave his home with the judge’s permission.

If convicted, Anthony cannot face the death penalty because he is a juvenile, thanks to a 2005 Supreme Court ruling in a case called Roper v. Simmons.

Fox News Digital reached out to Allison’s attorney for comment, but did not immediately receive a response. 

Fox News Digital’s Lorraine Taylor and Peter D’Abrosca contributed to this report. 

Stepheny Price is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business. She covers topics including missing persons, homicides, national crime cases, illegal immigration, and more. Story tips and ideas can be sent to stepheny.price@fox.com

Politicians across the nation claim they want a world-class education system that ensures every child receives the education they deserve. 

How we get there is the source of debate. Despite spending hundreds of billions of dollars in recent decades on our public education system, we have very little to show. According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the U.S. hovers near the middle of the pack internationally in standardized test scores even as other countries have advanced. One report said, “The U.S. struggled the most in math, where 15-year-olds in 29 other countries had higher average scores than Americans.” 

This is unacceptable. And while there are a variety of reasons for our education stagnation, we believe that one answer is to provide families more choice, including private, religious schools.  

AHEAD OF KEY SUPREME COURT ARGUMENTS, HERE’S WHICH STATES HAVE PASSED SCHOOL CHOICE MEASURES

Parents in Oklahoma have been fighting for more education freedom for decades. One way Oklahoma responded was by expanding access for new and innovative charter schools as alternatives for parents seeking a better education for their children, including offerings such as a French-immersion school.

But Oklahoma’s choice is under attack once again at the United States Supreme Court.  

In Oklahoma, we have been battling two different lawsuits trying to destroy faith-based options for parents to choose. The ACLU, Freedom from Religion Foundation and others filed the first suit. Shockingly, the attorney general of Oklahoma, Gentner Drummond, filed the second.  

The aim of both suits is to prevent the Statewide Charter School Board and our Oklahoma Department of Education from treating St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School the same as every other applicant who applies to be a charter school simply because it is faith-based. The U.S. Supreme Court will soon hear arguments in the case. 

Oklahoma is rural. To ensure parents in rural areas have expanded choices, virtual options are available. We believe in Oklahoma that parents are best positioned to determine the educational needs of their own children and that the Oklahoma Department of Education should give parents as many options as possible to meet a diverse array of needs. Some parents may choose their local school, some parents may choose a brick-and-mortar charter school in their area, some parents may prefer a virtual approach.  

St. Isidore applied to be one of those options. They met all the academic criteria we require in Oklahoma to be a qualified option for parents. However, the ACLU and Attorney General Drummond objected, claiming that the state must discriminate against St. Isidore because it is Catholic.  

Supporters of school choice responded that we are simply trying to expand options for parents, and we are not allowed to violate the Free Exercise Clause of the United States Constitution.   

In fact, we felt bound by prior U.S. Supreme Court decisions prohibiting this kind of religious bigotry in educational choices, including Carson v. Makin, a recent case won by the Institute for Justice and First Liberty Institute against the state of Maine for doing precisely what Drummond is demanding be done here – engaging in religious bigotry against a faith-based educational option. 

The argument, advanced by the ACLU and Drummond, is that religious bigotry is enshrined in the Oklahoma Constitution because it has two provisions that work together to prohibit government resources from aiding a faith-based educational program.  

These provisions are sometimes called “little Blaine Amendments,” because they harken back to efforts by Senator James Blaine from Maine in the late 19th Century to ensure that no public funds would go to Catholic schools but rather would be reserved to the more Protestant-friendly public schools.  

CLICK HERE FOR MORE FOX NEWS OPINION  

This effort to ban Catholic schools from receiving any aid is a “doctrine, born of bigotry,” according to Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito. It is this bigotry that the ACLU and Drummond are attempting to continue, and it is this bigotry that we intend to end in Oklahoma. 

For decades, politicians and activists pointed fingers at each other, each trying to blame another for the educational ills of our home state. Almost every solution offered sounds different and promising, but they usually have the same thing in common – they are government-led solutions.  

We are trying to do something different in Oklahoma. We are trying to empower parents to decide for their families and force schools to compete for parents in an open market system. Some parents would like a faith-based option.  

St. Isidore applied to be one of those options. They met all the academic criteria we require in Oklahoma to be a qualified option for parents. However, the ACLU and Attorney General Drummond objected, claiming that the state must discriminate against St. Isidore because it is Catholic.  

Excluding that option in the name of 19th century religious bigotry is just another political agenda driving education policy.  

Instead of fighting against parents and telling them that government officials know what is best for their children, we should instead listen to them. There is hope that the Supreme Court will give us this chance, a chance to take power away from government bureaucrats and give it back to the people.  

Ryan Walters, Oklahoma’s state superintendent of public instruction since 2023, is a former high school history teacher and education reform advocate committed to parental empowerment and conservative policy initiatives in public education. Hiram Sasser is executive general counsel for First Liberty Institute, a nonprofit law firm dedicated to defending religious freedom for all. 

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM HIRAM SASSER 

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM RYAN WALTERS

Texas hospitals were left on the hook for nearly $122 million in health care costs racked up by illegal immigrants for one month last year, the first month the state began tracking the figures.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed an executive order in August mandating the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (THHSC) to track the number of “individuals not lawfully present” in the U.S. who used Texas public hospitals.

The first report, released Friday, shows more than 31,000 hospital visits by illegal immigrants in November alone — costing Texas hospitals $121.8 million.

SKYROCKETING HEALTHCARE COSTS FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS SPARKS BORDER STATE OUTCRY

Abbott’s executive order directed Texas hospitals to provide THHSC with quarterly breakdowns on patients who are not lawfully present in the U.S., including the number of inpatient discharges, emergency department visits and the cost of care provided to these patients. 

Though the $121.8 million incurred represents the month of November 2024, future reports will include full quarterly data, THHSC said. The agency will release its first yearly report of data collected from hospital providers Jan. 1, 2026.

THHSC said that hospital providers inform patients that their immigration status responses do not affect their care, as required by federal law.

Texas, a border state, reported some of the highest crossing numbers ever recorded under the Biden administration, putting immense pressure on its healthcare system, Andrew Mahaleris, Abbott’s press secretary, told Fox News Digital.

A doctor looking at healthcare data on a screen  (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

NEWSOM CONCEDES SKYROCKETING HEALTHCARE COSTS FOR ILLEGALS ARE ‘PARTIAL’ CONTRIBUTOR TO MEDICAID PROBLEM

“Many of these illegal immigrants are straining the Texas hospital system, which is why Governor Abbott directed the Texas Health and Human Services Commission to begin assessing the cost of care,” Mahaleris said. 

“Now, Texas has reliable data on the dramatic financial impact that illegal immigration is having on our hospital system.”

Mahaleris praised President Donald Trump’s “swift action” in securing the southern border, noting that illegal crossings have dropped to record lows. 

“Texas is hopeful that [Trump’s] efforts to remove those who entered unlawfully may also cause these healthcare costs to decline.” 

Last week, the Texas House Committee on Public Health heard testimony about a bill by Fort Worth Republican Rep. Mike Olcott’s that would make Abbott’s executive order a law, Fox 26 Houston reported.

A U.S. Border Patrol agent watches over more than 2,000 migrants at a field processing center on December 18, 2023, in Eagle Pass, Texas.  (John Moore/Getty Images)

Meanwhile, the Texas Hospitals Association, the principal advocate for the state’s hospitals and healthcare systems, said that the fact that hospitals are required to collect this data should not be a deterrent for people in need of care.

“With 24/7 life-saving care, hospitals are required by law to treat anyone who comes through the door, regardless of ability to pay, regardless of their demographics,” the association said in a statement.

The fact that hospitals are required to collect this data should not be a deterrent for people in need of care. Hospitals remain open and ready to serve Texans’ acute care needs.”