Retrial scheduled in former Ohio deputy’s murder case
Columbus, Ohio — The retrial of a former Ohio sheriff’s deputy accused of killing a 23-year-old black man is scheduled for this fall.
The Oct. 31 trial date for Jason Meade, who is white, was confirmed during a status conference held Monday by Franklin County Common Pleas Court Judge David Young. Casey Goodson Jr. was one of several black people killed by white law enforcement in Ohio over the past decade — deaths that have all sparked national outrage and calls for police reform.
He also oversaw Meade’s first trial earlier this year, where a jury could not agree on a verdict and Young declared a mistrial in February, ending the tumultuous proceeding that saw four jurors dismissed.
Special prosecutors Tim Merkle and Gary Shroyer, along with Montgomery County Assistant Prosecutor Josh Shaw – who were appointed to handle the case – issued a statement days later saying that “it is in the best interest of all involved and the community ” to move on to a new case. process.
Meade was charged with murder and reckless homicide in the December 2020 killing of Goodson in Columbus. Meade has pleaded not guilty, and his attorneys have said they were not surprised by the prosecutor’s decision to request a new trial, which they believed was the result of political pressure from local elected officials.
Meade shot Goodson six times, five in the back, as Goodson tried to enter his grandmother’s home. Meade testified that Goodson waved a gun at him as the two drove past each other, so he chased Goodson because he said he feared for his life and the lives of others. He said he ultimately shot Goodson in the doorway of his grandmother’s home because the young man turned toward him with a gun.
Goodson’s family and prosecutors have said he was holding a sandwich bag in one hand and his keys in the other when he was fatally shot. They do not dispute that Goodson may have been carrying a gun and note that he was licensed to carry a firearm.
Goodson’s weapon, a handgun with an extended magazine, was found on his grandmother’s kitchen floor with the safety engaged.
Meade was not wearing a body camera, so there is no footage of the shooting, and prosecutors repeatedly claimed during the first trial that Meade is the only person who testified that Goodson was holding a gun.