By: Earl J.

Earl J.
Fri, 03 Mar 2017 00:47:28 +0000

You raise a very good question, and to it, the first thing I can think of to say is simply “being aware.” That includes being aware of one’s surroundings at ALL times, and also taking precautions to protect oneself when going out (e.g. walking in groups, carrying pepper spray, being mindful of escape routes, etc). It’s truly unfortunate that people should have to worry about constantly being “on guard” but the reality is, we live in a world where personal safety cannot truly be taken for granted. It’s simply a fact of life, and a matter of survival, even in Columbus.

Reagan Tokes’ death is heartbreaking and unnerving to many people because she was a young and innocent woman who wasn’t doing anything wrong to make herself a target. She wasn’t stumbling along High Street after having a few too many drinks, or mindlessly talking on her cell phone. She was simply going home from work. She could have been your sister, your girlfriend, your daughter, your best friend, your niece. She was indeed these things and more to people who now grieve for her and for all of the moments and memories with her that were to come, but that now have been stolen forever away from their lives.

She had a random encounter with a monster of a person who did not care anything at all about who she was, or what she meant to her loved ones. His criminal acts perpetrated against her are as heinous as they are utterly heartless and horrifying. But giving him the death penalty–which I personally think he richly deserves–still won’t bring back Reagan or fill the excruciatingly painful void her absence and manner of departure leaves in the hearts of her family and friends.

It leads to me to ask, what created such a person who would think to do such a thing to someone in the first place? Also, could anything have directed him down a different road, towards a better outcome? I think sincerely asking these questions should lead us eventually to the second stage answer to your question posed, towards a more constructive solution. It will likely not yield any quick fixes which our society and culture are all too fond of, but perhaps what comes through perseverance and a commitment to genuine fundamental solutions may spare someone else from ever again having to endure the horror of what Reagan experienced in her final moments of life.