A jury in Columbus, Ohio, convicted former Franklin County sheriff’s deputy Jason Meade of reckless homicide on Thursday, holding him criminally responsible for the 2020 death of Casey Goodson Jr., a 23-year-old Black man who was shot six times in the doorway of his grandmother’s home. The panel could not agree on a murder charge, leaving unresolved the question of whether Meade acted with purpose when he fired after pursuing Goodson on Dec. 4, 2020. It was the second trial for Meade, whose first ended in a mistrial two years earlier.
Meade, who is white, contended the shooting was justified. He testified in his first trial that Goodson waved a gun at him from his truck as they passed on the road. He did not take the stand at the second trial. But prosecutors and Goodson’s family said the man was holding a bag of Subway sandwiches in one hand and his keys in the other, and was listening to music through earbuds. No camera captured the shooting, and no other witness reported seeing Goodson hold the handgun he was legally licensed to carry. After the shooting, the weapon was found under Goodson’s body on his grandmother’s kitchen floor with its safety still engaged, according to evidence presented at trial.
Christopher Corne, who was driving nearby, testified that he saw Goodson dancing and singing in his pickup truck shortly before the encounter and did not see a gun in his hand. Columbus police Officer Samuel Rippey, who administered emergency aid, said he saw the gun with an extended magazine lying on the floor.
Under Ohio law, murder requires proof that a defendant purposefully caused a death, while reckless homicide covers conduct that was reckless. The reckless homicide conviction carries a maximum five-year prison sentence; sentencing is scheduled for July 16 before Judge David Young. Prosecutors said they were pleased with the verdict but have not decided whether to seek a third trial on the murder charge — something Goodson’s mother, Tamala Payne, said she would like to see happen.
“This verdict, it gives us closure, it gives us peace,” Payne said after the decision. “I know now Casey can rest. 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. And now, not only can we try to find peace and finally start truly grieving, my baby can rest.”
Meade’s defense attorneys did not address reporters. Brian Steel, president of the Fraternal Order of Police Capital City Lodge #9, said he respected the jury but was “disappointed” with the conviction. He urged prosecutors not to pursue a third trial “for the sake of not only the Meade family, the Goodson family and the community.”
The conviction is only the second of a white Ohio law enforcement officer in the killing of a Black man since the 2020 murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police sparked nationwide protests. The other case involved former Columbus police officer Adam Coy, who was convicted in the 2020 killing of Andre Hill. Goodson’s death, like Hill’s, drew sustained public outrage and calls for police reform. Banners reading “Justice for Casey Goodson Jr.” and “Convict Murderer Meade” were hung from highway overpasses in Columbus; the judge ordered them taken down during the trial.
Meade, now 47, retired from the sheriff’s department in 2021. He is also a Baptist pastor.