jason meade was found guilty of reckless homicide in the retrial over the 2020 shooting death of Casey Goodson Jr., while jurors deadlocked on the murder charge. Franklin County jurors had begun their first full day of deliberations on Thursday before Judge David Young read a Howard Charge after they said they were having a difficult time reaching a verdict.
The case returned to trial after a 2024 jury could not reach a verdict. Thursday’s split left Meade convicted on one count and without a murder verdict, keeping the case narrowed to the lesser charge returned by the jury.
Franklin County deliberations
Meade was a Franklin County Sheriff’s deputy working with a federal task force serving warrants in 2020 when he shot Goodson. He said Goodson was waving a gun, and the trial turned in part on whether Goodson heard Meade’s orders.
Jurors also heard extensive discussion about how Meade’s shots struck Goodson in the back. Those facts sat at the center of the competing accounts presented in the retrial.
Gary Merkle closing arguments
Special prosecutor Gary Merkle told jurors, “Mr. Meade knowingly caused serious harm to Casey Goodson that resulted in his death.” Defense attorney Mark Collins responded, “(Meade) had no pause button, he had no crystal ball, he had no duty to wait for the first shot.”
Meade did not testify in his own defense in this trial. He did testify in his 2024 trial, which ended without a verdict.
Casey Goodson Jr. retrial
The partial verdict leaves the retrial with one completed count and one unresolved charge. For Goodson’s family, the case now turns on the murder count that jurors could not settle after a day of deliberations and a Howard Charge from Young.
