Jason Meade, a former Franklin County sheriff’s deputy, was found guilty Thursday of reckless homicide for the December 2020 killing of Casey Goodson Jr., a Black man who entered his grandmother’s home in Columbus, Ohio, while bringing sandwiches. The jury also failed to reach agreement on a murder charge, prompting Judge David Young to declare a mistrial on that count.
The case drew sustained public attention in Ohio, as Goodson’s death added to national scrutiny of police use of force after the killing of George Floyd in Minnesota sparked nationwide protests in 2020. In Columbus, banners were hung from highway overpasses carrying messages including “Justice for Casey Goodson Jr.” and “Convict Murderer Meade,” though the judge ordered the banners taken down during the trial.
At the second trial, jurors heard testimony about what happened during the confrontation in the doorway. Meade testified earlier and told the court he believed he acted lawfully because he saw Goodson holding a gun and turning toward him in the entrance. In the second trial, Meade did not take the stand, and prosecutors argued that the evidence did not support the claim that Goodson had a gun in his hands at the time.
The prosecution said the only gun connected to the encounter was found under Meade after Goodson was shot and lay mortally wounded on the kitchen floor. Prosecutors also said the weapon’s safety mechanism still was engaged when it was discovered and described it as being in a flimsy holder under Meade’s belt. Prosecutors pointed to the absence of recorded footage of the shooting, and they said no other testimony indicated that Goodson had the gun he was licensed to carry.
Defense attorneys, including Mark Collins and Kaitlyn Stephens, did not address the media after the verdict. Prosecutors said they were pleased with the guilty verdict on the reckless homicide charge but had not decided whether to seek a third trial on the murder charge. Ohio law distinguishes murder, which requires a purposeful causing of death and carries punishment up to life in prison, from reckless homicide, which for the reckless murder charge means a defendant acted recklessly and carries a maximum sentence of five years; Judge David Young set sentencing for July 16.
Goodson’s mother, Tamala Payne, said the guilty verdict brought her family closure and peace. Payne said, “I know now Casey can rest. You know, we’ve been fighting for five and a half years, and Casey sees his family fighting. He knows the stress. He knows the pain. He knows the heartache,” adding, “And now, not only can we try to find peace and finally start truly grieving, my baby can rest.”
The case had already produced one hung jury and a mistrial. Meade was convicted neither of murder nor reckless homicide in the first trial, which ended in a mistrial two years earlier, and Meade again faced prosecutors in a second attempt. Meade, now 47, retired from the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department in 2021, and the Associated Press reported that he is also a Baptist pastor.
Testimony at the trials included accounts from people who were near the scene. Christopher Corne testified for the prosecution at both trials, and he told jurors in the second trial that Goodson appeared to be dancing and singing in his truck shortly before the shooting. In the first trial, Corne said he did not see a gun in Goodson’s hand. Columbus police Officer Samuel Rippey testified in the second trial that while he was administering emergency treatment to Goodson, he saw the gun on the floor with an extended magazine.
After the verdict, Brian Steel, president and chief executive of the Fraternal Order of Police Capital City Lodge #9, said he respected the jury but was “disappointed” with the decision. Steel said he hoped prosecutors would not pursue another trial on the murder charge, calling it “long six years drawn out,” and he said, “I hope they’re for the sake of not only the Meade family, the Goodson family and the community, I hope we don’t try to do a third trial on this murder charge.”
The outcome also drew comparisons to other recent Ohio cases. The Associated Press report noted that previous Ohio prosecutions in similar situations had led to only one conviction prior to Meade’s case: the Columbus police officer Adam Coy, who was indicted on charges including murder in the 2020 killing of Andre Hill.