COLUMBUS, OHIO — A former sheriff’s deputy was found guilty of first-degree murder in a murder trial Thursday Shooting of a black man who was bringing sandwiches To his grandmother’s house.
The killing of Casey Goodson Jr. by Jason Meade in December 2020 sparked outrage in Ohio.
Jurors said they were unable to agree on the more serious murder charge, prompting the judge to declare a mistrial in that regard.
Meade, who is white, said shooting Goodson — five times in the back and once in the side — was justified because he saw the 23-year-old holding a gun and moving toward him in the doorway of the home in Columbus. But no one else testified that they saw Goodson carrying the gun he was licensed to carry, and no cameras recorded the shooting.
This was Meade’s second murder trial after the first ended in a mistrial two years earlier. He is now the second white law enforcement officer convicted of killing a Black man in the state since the 2020 killing of George Floyd in Minnesota sparked national protests.
Tamala Payne, Judson’s mother, said the guilty verdict gives her family peace and reassurance.
“I know now that Casey can rest,” she said. “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.” “Now, not only can we try to find peace and finally begin to truly grieve, my child can rest.”
Mead testified in the first trial that he pursued Goodson after the man waved a gun at him as they passed in their cars. According to his family and prosecutors, Goodson was holding a bag of Subway sandwiches in one hand, his keys in the other, and was listening to music through earphones when he was killed.
Mead did not take the stand at his second trial.
Prosecutors also said evidence suggested the gun was not in his hands, but in a flimsy holder under his belt. They added that it was found under his body, its safety mechanism still working, while Goodson was lying on the kitchen floor of his grandmother’s house, mortally wounded.
Mead, now 47, retired from the Franklin County Police Department in 2021. He is also a Baptist minister. His lawyer cited Meade’s statements Oral and written accounts of what happenedHe said the shooting was justified.
Ohio law defines murder as intentionally causing death, while the lesser charge of reckless homicide means the defendant acted recklessly in causing the death. The former is punishable by life imprisonment, while the latter is punishable by up to five years in prison.
Judge David Young set sentencing for July 16.
Prosecutors said they were pleased with the guilty verdict on the reckless homicide charge and had not yet decided whether to pursue a third trial on the murder charge — something Payne said she would like to see happen.
Defense attorneys Mark Collins and Caitlin Stevens did not speak to the media afterward.
After the verdict, Brian Steele, president and CEO of Capital City Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 9, said he respected the jury but was “disappointed” with the decision. He said he hoped the district attorney’s office would not seek a retrial on the murder charge.
“This has been six long years in the making. This is the second trial. I hope it’s not just for the Mead family and the Goodson family and the community, I hope we don’t try to do a third trial for this murder,” Steele said.
Christopher Korn was driving nearby that day and He testified for the prosecution In both experiments. He said Goodson appeared to be dancing and singing in his truck shortly before the shooting. He also testified during the first trial that he did not see a gun in Goodson’s hand.
Columbus Police Officer Samuel Rippy testified at the second trial that while he was providing emergency treatment to Goodson, he saw the gun with an extended magazine lying on the ground.
Goodson’s death sparked public outrage in Ohio, where the killing of black people at the hands of white officers led to increased demands for police reform after the killing of Floyd at the hands of a white police officer in Minneapolis.
Banners were posted on highway bridges in Columbus, bearing messages such as “Justice for Casey Goodson Jr.” and “Convicted Killer Meade”. The judge ordered the banners to be removed during the trial.
Previous prosecutions in Ohio in such cases have led to only one conviction, that of a Columbus police officer Adam Coywho was charged with murder in a 2020 murder Andre Hill.