Death Penalty or Life Imprisonment - Franklin County Prosecutor Considers

Over a week has passed since the body of Reagan Tokes was found near the entrance of the Scioto Grove Metro Park. The devastating loss of this 21-year-old girl has taken a great toll upon the tolerance of our community for these kinds of vicious crimes. According to a complaint filed in municipal court Wednesday night February 8th, Brian Lee Goldsby was charged with the kidnapping, murder, and rape of Reagan Tokes. Reagan Tokes was just months away from graduating with a degree in Psychology this coming May. Her dreams and life goals were cut short at way too young of an age.

Since Brian Goldsby was charged with kidnapping, murdering, and raping Reagan Tokes, I have been asked many times as to the chances that Brian Goldsby will receive the death penalty. While it is very reasonable to come to this conclusion that this evil act is deserving of the death penalty, capital punishment charges are not a standard as many assume. Before a person can be considered for capital punishments, the individual must be charged with aggravated murder, which Brian Goldsby has been charged with.

In order for Brian Goldsby to be given the death penalty, the court must show that Goldsby “purposely and with prior calculation” caused the death of Reagan Tokes. Franklin County Prosecutor, Ron O’Brian has publicly announced that he is considering the death penalty for Goldsby, but given Ohio’s history of ambivalence towards the questions of capital punishment, Goldsby’s charge is still very up in the air. An article published by Cleveland.com earlier this month found that there are currently 26 men scheduled for executions in Ohio, many of whom have been waiting on death row for nearly four decades. Specifically, 17 of those 26 have been waiting on death row for over 20 years and 5 have been on death row for more than 30 years. Additionally, 2016 was the second year in a row that Ohio did not conduct any executions. Furthermore, according to some legislative audits, the cost of putting a person to death through capital punishments can cost 70% more than a full life incarceration.

Whatever the penalties for such a crime may be, they will never bring back the life of Reagan Tokes. The Law Offices of Eric J. Hoffman extend our deepest condolences to the entire Tokes family.