Judge declares a mistrial in a former Ohio deputy’s murder trial
COLUMBUS, Ohio — A former Ohio sheriff’s deputy charged in the killing of a Black man remained free Friday, after a jury couldn’t agree on a verdict and the judge twice declared a mistrial, ending tumultuous proceedings that saw four jurors dismissed.
Jason Meade was charged with murder and reckless homicide in the December 2020 killing of Casey Goodson Jr. in Columbus. Meade, who is white, shot Goodson six times, including five times in the back, as the 23-year-old man tried to enter his grandmother’s home.
Judge David Young had already declared a mistrial Friday morning, but retracted it minutes later and commended the jurors for their hard work. Jurors came to Young again to say they couldn’t agree and he instructed them to keep trying. He declared a final mistrial about two hours after that, when jurors — some of whom were crying — said they were deadlocked.
Young will meet with prosecutors and defense lawyers in the near future to decide how to proceed with the case, but it wasn’t clear Friday when that would happen.
Sean Walton, an attorney for the Goodson family, told reporters that while there was indeed a mistrial, there were still jurors who clearly considered all the evidence and thought Meade was guilty.
“There were jurors back there that obviously felt that Jason Meade was responsible for the unjustifiable killing of Casey Goodson. And that should make a statement,” Walton said.
The nearly four years since Goodson was killed have been a “rollercoaster of extremes” for his family, Walton said. Meade’s attorney, Mark Collins, expressed gratitude for how hard the jurors worked to be “as fair and impartial as possible,” and said he and Meade are “ready to go,” if a second trial is set.
“This is just the first step in the process,” Collins said.
The special prosecutors who handled the case did not comment before leaving the courthouse. Franklin County Prosecuting Attorney G. Gary Tyack’s office issued a news release saying their thoughts are with the Goodson family, and that they will decide whether to retry the case after a review.
