COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Ohio Supreme Court has agreed to take a closer look at a legal challenge prosecutors hope could give them a second chance at the death penalty for the man convicted of killing an Ohio State student.
Brian Golsby is currently serving a life sentence for the 2017 murder of Reagan Tokes.
Tokes was kidnapped, raped and fatally shot after leaving work at a Short North bar in February of that year.
Golsby, a convicted sex offender, had just been released from prison months before Tokes’ murder - and conducted a series of robberies in the weeks leading up to her death.
While a jury convicted Golsby of the crimes, they were deadlocked on if he should have received the death penalty.
Defense attorneys argued Golsby was raped as a child, which led him to harm others.
But prosecutors argue defense attorneys were not required to offer any proof that Golsby was actually ever victimized.
Prosecutors argue there has to be some burden of proof when defense teams present mitigating circumstances.
The Supreme Court announced Friday it has accepted the case, pending another death penalty case with a similar challenge, involving Kristofer Garrett who stabbed and killed his four-year daughter and her mother.
