The Reagan Tokes Law in Ohio requires judges to establish minimum and maximum prison sentences for certain violent felonies. Felons must serve at least the minimum sentence, but can be held for the maximum if they break rules while in prison.
If you are currently facing felony charges, the Reagan Tokes Law could have a significant impact on sentencing in your case. You can discuss your options for legal defense with an experienced Cleveland criminal defense lawyer.
Reagan Tokes Law Explained
The Reagan Tokes Act, also known as Ohio SB 201, applies indefinite sentencing to certain first- and second-degree felony offenses committed after March 22, 2019. Instead of a fixed sentence, judges define a minimum and maximum prison term. The offender must stay in prison for at least the minimum sentence. However, bad behavior in prison can extend the offender’s sentence to the maximum term.
The law is named after 21-year-old Reagan Tokes, who was abducted and murdered in 2017 by Brian Golsby. Golsby had recently been released from prison after completing a prior sentence for robbery and attempted rape, despite a history of repeatedly breaking prison rules regarding fights and violence.
The law is meant to keep violent felons who are likely to re-offend off the streets and applies to qualifying felony offenses, including aggravated assault, robbery, and rape. As of 2025, nearly 15,000 people in Ohio have received indefinite sentences under the Reagan Tokes Law.
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Example of Sentencing Under the Reagan Tokes Law
Here is a concrete example of how sentencing under the Reagan Tokes Law works: Say you are arrested for burglary (or another qualifying second-degree felony). The judge then imposes a minimum sentence of 4 years. According to the Reagan Tokes Law, the judge must define a maximum sentence equal to one and a half times the minimum sentence.
So if the minimum sentence is four years, the maximum sentence would be six years (1.5 x 4 = 6). You would have to serve at least four years before you would be eligible for release. However, breaking rules in prison could result in serving the maximum six-year sentence instead.
In the case of multiple felony offenses, the offender must serve the minimum sentence of the more serious offense.
Qualifying Offenses Under Ohio’s Reagan Tokes Law
The Reagan Tokes Law is applicable to first-degree (F1) and second-degree (F2) felony offenses that don’t carry a lifetime prison sentence, such as rape, aggravated assault, or robbery. Qualifying offenses are not always violent in nature and may include crimes like drug trafficking.
Lower felony offenses are not covered under the law, and so still generally carry definite prison sentences. Crimes carrying life in prison also aren’t qualifying offenses because a life sentence is already an indefinite sentence.
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Breaking Prison Rules Can Result in Serving the Maximum Term
Under the Reagan Tokes Law in Ohio, prisoners are presumed to serve at least the minimum sentence before release. However, they can be required to serve the maximum sentence if any of the following conditions are proven true in a pre-release hearing:
- The offender violated correctional facility rules that compromised the security of the facility and the safety of staff and other inmates.
- The offender has been placed in extended restriction housing (e.g., solitary confinement) within the past year.
- The inmate’s security level is three or higher.
If any of these are true, the correctional facility can hold the offender for additional time up to the maximum of the term. The facility must hold a second hearing if it wishes to extend incarceration even further.
When an inmate breaks a rule, a correctional officer will file a conduct report that is then reviewed by their supervisor. More serious offenses are escalated to the Rules Infraction Board, which determines whether inmates require removal and separation from other inmates.
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Is Reagan Tokes Constitutional?
There have been attempts in the past to argue against Reagan Tokes on the grounds that the indefinite sentences it imposes are unconstitutional.
According to the challenges, Reagan Tokes is unconstitutional because correctional facilities imposing extended sentences interfere with the judicial branch’s jurisdiction to impose sentences for crimes. Petitioners have also taken issue with how Reagan Tokes gives unqualified prison staff the power to extend criminal sentences.
However, a 2023 decision by the Ohio Supreme Court found the indefinite sentence from Reagan Tokes as constitutional. The court ruled that the executive branch was well within its rights to impose extended sentences because those ranges are set by the court through power granted by the legislature.
Contact a Cleveland Criminal Defense Lawyer
If you have more questions about the Reagan Tokes Law in Ohio and how it can affect criminal sentencing for felonies, contact HMW Law—Ohio Trial Attorneys online or call our offices today to speak to a Cleveland criminal defense lawyer.
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