On a summer evening in Saint George, Utah, the life of Jamal Good, a 23-year-old Black / African American man, was tragically cut short. On June 23, 2020, officers were called to the Legacy Ridge Apartments with a report of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Upon arrival, they found Jamal, known to his friends as "Tank," with a gunshot wound to his chest. He was rushed to Dixie Regional Medical Center, where he succumbed to his injury.
A former linebacker for Dixie State University, his death sent shockwaves through the community.
The initial report of a self-inflicted wound was quickly dispelled by the investigation that followed. At the scene, officers encountered Jamal's roommate, 32-year-old Tommy Bradshaw Jr. Bradshaw admitted to the police that he was the one who shot Good. According to Bradshaw's account, Good had returned home from swimming and was knocking loudly on his bedroom door. This prompted Bradshaw to retrieve a handgun from his closet. He then sought out Good, found him in a closet, and fired the weapon.
Though Bradshaw claimed the shooting was an accident, he also admitted to a history of reckless behavior with firearms. He was arrested and initially charged with first-degree murder. The legal proceedings that followed brought some measure of closure to Jamal's grieving family, who traveled from Southern California to attend the hearings. In September 2022, Tommy Bradshaw Jr. pleaded guilty to lesser charges of first-degree felony discharge of a firearm and second-degree felony manslaughter. During the sentencing in November 2022, Jamal's family delivered emotional victim impact statements, expressing the profound loss and heartbreak his death had caused.
