An Ohio jury failed to reach a verdict in the murder case for the ex-deputy accused of killing Casey Goodson Jr. in 2020, resulting in a mistrial this week.
Goodson, a 23-year-old Black man, was fatally shot multiple times in the back by former Franklin County Sheriff’s Office deputy Jason Meade outside of Goodson’s family’s Columbus home that December. He was charged with murder and reckless homicide the following year. It happened amid a wave of high-profile cases of Black people getting killed at the hands of law enforcement.
On Friday, Feb. 16, Franklin County Court of Common Pleas Judge David Young announced a mistrial but backtracked, hailing the jury for their efforts, The Associated Press reported. The jury told him they could not reach a concrete decision, but he urged them to keep deliberating. However, the jury deadlocked hours later, and the judge confirmed the mistrial, per the report.
“There were jurors back there that obviously felt that Jason Meade was responsible for the unjustifiable killing of Casey Goodson. And that should make a statement,” Goodson’s family attorney, Sean Walton, told the outlet.
Four years prior, Meade was assisting the U.S. Marshals in search for a fugitive — who was not Goodson. During this time, he claimed he saw Goodson brandishing a gun inside his car and decided to trail him to his grandmother’s residence.
Meade alleged that Goodson was holding a weapon and plastic bag when he was approaching the home. He reportedly ordered Goodson to put his hands up but opened fire when he didn’t comply.
Goodson’s family has reiterated that he was holding his keys and sandwiches in his hands while also having AirPods in his ears. They said that he had a license to carry and didn’t contest that the weapon may have been on him. It was discovered inside the kitchen with the safety on.
During his trial, Meade argued that he was acting in self-defense after Goodson — with his back still turned — pointed the gun at him in front of his grandmother’s door. There is no body camera footage of the shooting.
The judge is expected to meet with both teams to determine the next steps in this case, according to the reports.
“We place jurors in impossible situations because they have to be clinicians, they can’t use empathy and sympathy and that type of stuff,” Meade’s attorney, Mark Collins, said, per WCMH. “But, you know, the reality is they did the best that they could and that’s so justice was served today.”
