COLUMBUS, Ohio — There’s a mix of frustration and renewed optimism with Lisa McCrary-Tokes’ voice.
Five years ago to the day after her daughter, Reagan Tokes, was murdered by a convicted sex offender, Ohio House lawmakers voted to advance a bill that would drastically change how ex-prisoners are monitored and housed after they are released from prison.
House Bill 166 now advances to the state Senate.
While a portion of the Reagan Tokes Act dealing with criminal sentencing became law in 2018, the remaining portions of the bill have languished.
The bill, which would beef up GPS monitoring of offenders, also seeks to reduce parole officers' caseloads. A union representing the parole officers has argued the caseloads are too high and prevent them from effectively monitoring the ex-prisoners they’re tasked with keeping tabs on.
“It’s so hard I wish I was never put in a position to have to fight for something like this,” Lisa McCrary-Tokes told 10 Investigates during an interview hours after the vote. “But sitting back and doing nothing was not an option. Making a difference to help other people from a tragedy still is the best course of action.”
Tokes was kidnapped, raped and fatally shot by Brian Golsby on February 8, 2017. Golsby had recently been released from prison homeless. And because of that, no halfway house would accept him. He eventually found housing at a less restrictive residential housing center. But despite being assigned a GPS ankle monitor, no one closely monitored his whereabouts; and there were no parameters placed on his GPS device that would’ve restricted his movements or alerted parole officers if he violated any of those provisions.
10 Investigates’ reporting uncovered how the failure to not assign geographic “inclusion or exclusion zones” to Golsby’s GPS appeared to violate the policy of the Adult Parole Authority, which stated those parameters should have been in place a week after he was released.
Our reporting also highlighted how Tokes’ death was not a one-off. There were other examples where women were killed by men under the watch of the state’s Adult Parole Authority.
In 2019, Governor Mike DeWine impaneled a working group to explore problems with the Adult Parole Authority. Tokes’ case and that of other victims were among the cases closely examined.
“You really helped uncover some of the brokenness and the flaws that got our attention from the get-go to make us want to take action and not sit back say this is okay,” McCrary-Tokes said.
“There are systemic failures that have to happen in order for this crime to occur,” Rep. Kristin Boggs, D – Columbus said during a lengthy floor speech Wednesday.
Boggs, who is one of the sponsors of HB 166 also known as the Reagan Tokes Act, reminded lawmakers of that Wednesday before the House voted unanimously to approve HB 166 known as the Reagan Tokes Act.
Lisa McCrary-Tokes said she is encouraged by the swift passage of the bill this time around and is hopeful it will pass the state Senate.
“It doesn’t erase and it doesn’t take away our pain and it doesn’t take away anything that we’ve lost but it does help others and that was something Reagan was so much about. She really would be proud and happy that we have continued to see us through and stick with this,” she said.
10 Investigates reached out to Sen. Nathan Manning for comment.
The parole officers’ union, SEIU 1199, put out a statement Thursday saying they are in favor of the efforts but don’t think the bill goes far enough. They’d like to see real-time GPS added and more parole officers hired as part of an effort to improve safety
“Currently the GPS system in Ohio is a farce, set up to give the illusion of supervision and accountability. However, there is no real time monitoring of those on GPS, there isn’t even the ability of a Parole Officer to pull up the GPS records and check them periodically to ensure regular oversight of compliance.
“SEIU/1199 has submitted amendments requiring access to GPS records in real time, so Parole Officers can track and effectively supervise those under GPS supervision,” their release stated.