Lawyers for Brian Golsby, the man charged with the rape, kidnapping and murder of Ohio State student Reagan Tokes, have asked a judge to put his trial on hold.
The motion was filed Wednesday and asked the judge to pause the trial pending the resolution of House Bill 389, a bill which seeks to abolish the death penalty in Ohio.
The statement said if the bill passes there would “no longer be a possibility of a sentencing phase at trial.”
“The time and costs of preparing for trial, impaneling a jury, trying the case and the years of appeals will largely be avoided if the bill passes,” Golsby’s attorneys said in the motion.
This request comes on the back of a motion filed by Golsby’s defense team Oct. 31, asking the judge to take the death penalty out of consideration, claiming Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O’Brien’s office’s has a track record of seeking capital punishment against African-Americans.
From 2005 to 2017 there have been 25 indictments involving the death penalty in Franklin County. Sixteen of the 25 defendants were African-American.
Golsby’s attorneys are also asking that any GPS data from his ankle monitor be excluded from evidence because they believe the way it was obtained violated the 4th Amendment; it was not collected via subpoena.
O’Brien’s office has yet to respond to The Lantern’s request for comment.
