4:05 p.m. Update
Jason Meade has been found guilty of reckless homicide.
Jurors deadlocked on the more serious charge of murder.
We are updating this story.
3:55 p.m. Update
The jurors are coming back into the coutroom. We could have a decision shortly.
Watch our livestream below:
2:50 p.m. Update
The judge in the Jason Meade murder retrial on Thursday urged jurors to try to reach a verdict after they said they were having a difficult time doing so.
Judge David Young read what’s called a Howard Charge, an appeal to deadlocked jurors to go back and re-consider testimony and evidence to try to reach a decision.
Meade’s first murder trial in 2024 ended in a mistrial because jurors couldn’t reach a verdict.
This story will be updated.
ORIGINAL REPORTING
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WSYX) — A Franklin County jury begins its first full day of deliberations Thursday as it weighs the fate of former sheriff’s deputy Jason Meade, accused of murder in the 2020 shooting death of Casey Goodson Jr.
The case is being tried for a second time after a jury in 2024 could not reach a verdict, leading to a retrial that culminated in closing arguments yesterday.
As of 2:53 p.m. Thursday, jurors had been back in deliberations following the Howard Charge, trying to reach a decision. Once they do, we’ll stream the proceedings in the Youtube player below:
Below is a short clip of Young’s reading of the Howard Charge at about 2:25 p.m:
In 2020, Meade was a Franklin County Sheriff’s deputy working with a federal task force serving warrants. As that work wrapped up, Meade saw Goodson drive by and Meade said Goodson was waving a gun. Meade followed Goodson to Goodson’s grandmother’s house, ordered him to drop the weapon and then shot Goodson to death.
The trial has included extensive discussion about whether Goodson heard Meade’s orders and how Meade’s shots struck Goodson in the back.
In closing arguments, special prosecutor Gary Merkle said, “Mr. Meade knowingly caused serious harm to Casey Goodson that resulted in his death.”
Defense attorney Mark Collins told jurors, “(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 take the stand in his 2024 trial.
This story will be updated.
