Slain woman’s family’s appeal rejected
State Supreme Court blocks case seeking damages.
The Ohio Supreme Court has refused to hear the appeal of the family of slain Ohio State University student Reagan Tokes in its attempt to sue state prison officials for failing to properly monitor the man who raped and killed her amid a crime spree.
The justices voted 6-1 on Tuesday to not accept the wrongful death case, leaving in place lower-court rulings that Tokes’ family was legally forbidden from suing the state for damages.
Justice Michael P. Donnelly dissented, saying he would have heard arguments on the family’s contention that the legislature’s grant of governmental unity violates an Ohio Constitution provision stating lawsuits may be brought against the state.
The Ohio Court of Claims and the 10th District Court of Appeals in Columbus had dismissed the family’s wrongful-death lawsuit, ruling that the state is shielded from the damages claim by governmental immunity because it owed Tokes no special duty to protect her from her eventual killer.
“We were really disappointed,” said Robert Newman, a Cincinnati lawyer representing the Tokes family. “The court had an opportunity to hear a challenge to the sovereign immunity statute that protects DRC for any kind of challenge. It’s the dead end of the suit against DRC.”
The 21-year-old Tokes, a psychology major months from graduation, was kidnapped from a street in the Short North and shot twice in the head, and her body was dumped near a Grove City park entrance on Feb. 8, 2017.
Brian Golsby, 30, a sex offender being monitored by the Adult Parole Authority after serving a six-year prison sentence for robbery and attempted rape, was convicted of the murder and received three life sentences without parole. He also was sentenced to 66 years in prison for six armed robberies he committed in German Village and the Short North in the days prior to the murder.
Classified as a high-risk offender, Golsby had violated the terms of his parole at least three times without being imprisoned and was wearing a GPS ankle monitor during the robberies and murder.
The Tokes family’s appeal claimed that the Adult Parole Authority and its contractor negligently failed to monitor the movements of Golsby, including instances when he had violated curfew restrictions, leading to Tokes’ slaying.
A lawsuit seeking damages from NISRE Inc., the Columbus contractor involved with Golsby’s parole supervision, remains pending in Franklin County Common Pleas Court. Trial is set for March 30, 2020.
The Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction “was indeed aware Golsby posed a ‘substantial risk to others’ and ignored it ... thus, a special relationship existed between DRC and Golsby ... DRC had the ability to control Golsby. DRC was literally tied to Golsby’s ankle,” the family’s appeal said.
Tokes’ parents, Toby Tokes and Lisa McCrary-Tokes, have lobbied Ohio legislators to fully enact the Reagan Tokes Act named in her memory. Legislators last year passed half of the legislation, imposing tougher prison sentences on violent offenders. However, the Senate did not act on the other half, which would improve monitoring and controls over felons once they are released from prison. That section has been reintroduced this year by bipartisan teams of legislators in both chambers.