Jury deliberations begin in murder retrial of former Ohio deputy who fatally shot Black man

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A jury began deliberating Wednesday in the murder retrial of a former sheriff’s deputy in Ohio charged in the fatal shooting of 23-year-old Casey Goodson Jr.

More than two years after a tumultuous first proceeding ended in mistrial, Jason Meade is once again awaiting a jury's verdict. The former Franklin County sheriff's deputy and Baptist pastor, who is white, is charged with murder and reckless homicide for shooting Goodson, who was Black, five times in the back as he tried to enter his grandmother’s house in December 2020.

Goodson's death, one of several involving Black people killed by white Ohio law enforcement officers over the previous decade, came at the end of a year in which mass protests swept the nation over the murder of George Floyd.

Goodson’s family in 2024 reached a $7 million civil settlement in a federal civil rights lawsuit against the county.

Meade’s defense team opted not to have him testify this time around. During his first trial in 2024, Meade testified that he pursued Goodson after he waved a gun as the two drove past one another, fearing his life and the lives of others were in danger. Meade said he eventually shot Goodson because he turned toward him with a gun.

“Jason had to decide, ladies and gentlemen, whether the gun he had already seen twice was going to be the gun that killed him,” defense attorney Mark Collins told jurors during closing arguments Wednesday. “He had no pause button. He had no crystal ball. And he had no duty to wait for the first shot. The law does not require perfection from our law enforcement officers. It requires reasonableness.”

He said the jury must acquit.

Special prosecutor Howard Tim Merkle, a lawyer for the state, asked jurors, "Who’s got a motive here to deceive?” He argued that the defense had failed to make its case that Meade was defending his life when he shot Goodson.

“So what evidence is there against the idea, the suggestion that Casey turned and pointed the gun?” Merkle asked. “We can start with he's got six shots in his back. They're not in his front." One of the six shots was in Goodson's side.

There is no bodycam video of the shooting, and prosecutors have repeatedly asserted that Meade is the only person who testified Goodson was holding a gun. His family and legal team have said he was holding a Subway sandwich bag in one hand and his keys in the other when he was fatally shot. They do not dispute that Goodson may have been carrying a gun but note that he had a license to carry a firearm.

Goodson’s weapon was found under his body on his grandmother’s kitchen floor with the safety mechanism engaged.

From left, former sheriff's deputy Jason Meade, defense attorney Kaitlyn Stephens, prosecutor Howard Tim Merkle and prosecutor Gary Shroyer stand inside the courtroom at Franklin County Court of Common Pleas on Wednesday, May 6, 2026, in Columbus, Ohio. (Doral Chenoweth/The Columbus Dispatch via AP, Pool)

Judge David Young holds up jury instructions during closing arguments in former sheriff's deputy Jason Meade's retrial in Franklin County Court of Common Pleas on Wednesday, May 6, 2026, in Columbus, Ohio. (Doral Chenoweth/The Columbus Dispatch via AP, Pool)

Former sheriff's deputy Jason Meade stands during closing arguments of his retrial on Wednesday, May 6, 2026, inside Franklin County Court of Common Pleas in Columbus, Ohio. (Doral Chenoweth/The Columbus Dispatch via AP, Pool)

Tamala Payne, the mother of Casey Goodson Jr., sits inside the courtroom at Franklin County Common Pleas Court during closing arguments in the retrial of former sheriff's deputy Jason Meadeon, Wednesday, May 6, 2026, in Columbus, Ohio. (Doral Chenoweth/The Columbus Dispatch via AP, Pool)

Special prosecutor Tim Merkle, left, talks with defense attorney Mark Collins and Judge David Young speak during closing arguments in former sheriff's deputy Jason Meade's retrial inside Franklin County Court of Common Pleas on Wednesday, May 6, 2026, in Columbus, Ohio. (Doral Chenoweth/The Columbus Dispatch via AP, Pool)

FILE - Sean Walton, left, attorney representing Tamala Payne, right, the mother of Casey Goodson Jr., speaks during a news conferenc, Dec. 2, 2021, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)

FILE - Jason Meade, center, sits with his attorneys Mark Collins, left, and Kaitlyn Stephens, right, during opening statements in the retrial of the former Ohio sheriff's deputy charged with murder and reckless homicide in the 2020 killing of Casey Goodson Jr., inside Franklin County Common Pleas Court in Columbus, Ohio, April 23, 2026. (Doral Chenoweth/Pool photo via AP, File)

MUNICH (AP) — Ousmane Dembélé has scored early to give Paris Saint-Germain a 1-0 lead against Bayern Munich at halftime in the second leg of their Champions League semifinal on Wednesday.

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia raced clear after playing a simple one-two with Fabián Ruiz in midfield, then picked out the unmarked Dembélé to sweep the ball inside the top left corner in the third minute.

It gives PSG, the defending champion, a 6-4 lead on aggregate after edging their encounter 5-4 in the first leg in Paris last week.

Bayern complained that the already-booked Nuno Mendes should have been booked again when the ball hit his arm, and there were more protests when Vitinha struck teammate João Neves’ arm with the ball in the penalty area with a clearance.

Jonathan Tah went closest for Bayern with a header wide before the break.

The winner will face Arsenal in the final in Budapest, Hungary, on May 30, after the Gunners defeated Atletico Madrid 1-0 on Tuesday to progress 2-1 on aggregate.

PSG and Bayern were the top-scoring sides in the competition with 43 and 42 goals before Wednesday's game, respectively.

The German club has won five of its last seven meetings with PSG in Munich, and is going for a repeat of the Champions League, Bundesliga and German Cup treble of titles that it won in 2020 and 2013.

But PSG has good memories of Munich. The city was the scene of PSG’s triumph in the final last season when it demolished Inter Milan 5-0 to fulfill its Qatari owners’ quest to become European champion for the first time. A relatively unchanged team has been charged with delivering the second title.

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Munich's Jonathan Tan attends a press conference in Munich, Germany, Tuesday, May 5, 2026, ahead of the Champions League semifinal second leg soccer match between FC Bayern and PSG. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

PSG's head coach Luis Enrique attends a training session in Munich, Germany, Tuesday, May 5, 2026, ahead of the Champions League semifinal second leg soccer match between FC Bayern and PSG. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

Munich players attend a training session in Munich, Germany, Tuesday, May 5, 2026, ahead of the Champions League semifinal second leg soccer match between FC Bayern and PSG. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

Munich's Lebbart Karl, left, and Michael Olise attend a training session in Munich, Germany, Tuesday, May 5, 2026, ahead of the Champions League semifinal second leg soccer match between FC Bayern and PSG. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)