Former Ohio deputy accused of killing unarmed Black man awaits verdict in high-profile retrial
COLUMBUS, OHIO : A jury has begun deliberations in the murder retrial of former Ohio sheriff’s deputy Jason Meade, who is accused of fatally shooting 23-year-old Casey Goodson Jr. in a case that reignited national outrage over police violence and racial justice in America.
Meade, a former Franklin County deputy and Baptist pastor, faces murder and reckless homicide charges for allegedly shooting Goodson six times — including multiple shots to the back — outside his grandmother’s home in December 2020.
The retrial comes more than two years after the first case ended in mistrial, keeping one of Ohio’s most controversial police shooting cases in the national spotlight.
Defense attorneys argued Meade believed his life was in danger after allegedly seeing Goodson holding a gun during the encounter. Prosecutors, however, told jurors there is no bodycam footage and no witness besides Meade who claimed Goodson pointed a weapon.
State prosecutors stressed that most of the bullets struck Goodson from behind, challenging the defense’s claim of self-defense.
Goodson’s family insists he was carrying a Subway sandwich bag and keys when he was shot. While they acknowledge he legally owned a firearm, they argue there is no evidence he threatened the deputy.
The case drew national attention during the height of the George Floyd protests era, when mass demonstrations erupted across the United States over police killings of Black Americans.
In 2024, Goodson’s family reached a $7 million civil settlement with Franklin County in a federal civil rights lawsuit tied to the shooting.
The jury’s decision is now expected to determine whether the retrial ends in conviction, acquittal, or another dramatic twist in a case that continues to divide public opinion across America.