COLUMBUS, Ohio — A judge declared a mistrial Friday in the murder trial of a former Ohio sheriff’s deputy because the jury was unable to reach a verdict.
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 Black 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.
Prosecutors did not comment before leaving the courthouse.
Meade testified that Goodson waved a gun at him as the two drove past each other so he pursued Goodson because he feared for his life and the lives of others. He said he eventually shot Goodson in the…
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