Jason Meade murder trial: Everything that’s happened since Casey Goodson Jr.’s death
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — A murder trial looms for a former Franklin County sheriff’s deputy charged with the 2020 death of a 23-year-old Black man.
Jury selection begins Monday for the trial of Jason Meade, who took disability retirement from the sheriff’s office in 2021. It took a year after the death of Casey Goodson Jr. for prosecutors to charge Meade with murder. It took another two years for the court to finally set a date for the trial.
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A timeline of events leading up to Jason Meade’s murder trial is below. Click the links inside to view previous coverage of the case in chronological order.
The jury selection process began on Thursday, with prospective jurors answering a questionnaire with multiple items asking about their viewpoints as well as their knowledge of Goodson and Meade.
On the questionnaire, there are specific questions about their views on Black Lives Matter and Blue Lives Matter. They also ask about how much information they know about the case – both local news coverage and social media talk.
Meade faces two counts of murder as well as a count of reckless homicide for the shooting death of Goodson. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges. The former deputy was working with the U.S. Marshal’s Office the day that he shot and killed Goodson, and his attorney maintained that Goodson pointed a gun before the shooting. Goodson’s family has disputed this, saying the 23-year-old was returning home from a dentist’s appointment with Subway sandwiches. They noted he was shot and killed as he unlocked his door and attempted to enter his home. His death was witnessed by Goodson’s 72-year-old grandmother and two toddlers who were near the door.
An autopsy report indicated Goodson died from six bullets striking him in both his back and buttocks. Investigators said a handgun was recovered from Goodson’s body, but his family has said he was legally allowed to have one with a concealed carry permit.
Tamala Payne, Goodson’s mother, said she’s anxious about the trial, ready for it to begin and ready for it to end. She said she is praying for justice and for Meade.
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“In our Word, it says, ‘We pray for our enemies,’ and so we always want to make sure that we’ve done everything right on our part and we don’t have any hate or malice in our hearts,” she said. “Because if we do, that doesn’t get us anywhere and I just don’t want my family and I to be hateful, like the man that murdered my son. So we pray.”
A request for comment from Meade’s attorney was declined. Previously, on the day a grand jury indicted Meade, his attorney Mark Collins did speak with reporters.
“He was, maybe, at that point, 15-20 feet away screaming, ‘Show me your hands, show me your hands, show me your hands,'” Collins said at the time. “At one point, Mr. Goodson’s left hand was trying to get into the door. At one point, his shoulders went down, my client indicated. My client thought he was going to comply and then turn around and do that, but as he turned around, the gun was raised towards my client and pointed at my client giving him no other option.”
The Goodson family’s attorney, Sean Walton Jr., said the family has been looking forward to the start of the trial for years at this point.
“It’s hard, right? It’s hard to live with trauma,” Walton said. “It’s hard to understand that these things drag out. But Casey’s family has stood here, it hasn’t been easy. For them, it has been every single day. And I think, for the community, you know, it’s not asking a lot to just stand with the family in this moment, right? To stand with families in the future, because they live with it every second of every day.”
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