David Toney on the Right to Be Heard

David Toney’s father, Tom Toney, was tragically abducted and murdered in 1994, just six months after their family moved to Tennessee from Kentucky.

When David learned in the fall of 2020 that his father’s murderer was coming up for a parole hearing, he joined with family and friends to collect signatures for a petition demanding that the killer remain incarcerated. Their efforts worked. The parole board initially denied parole and declared the perpetrator ineligible for future consideration.

However, their relief was short-lived. A new directive later allowed life-sentenced inmates, including his father’s murderer, to be considered for parole retroactively. David helped mobilize a coalition of law enforcement, prosecutors, survivors, and advocacy groups, including Marsy’s Law for Kentucky, to challenge the directive. Their efforts ultimately helped secure its repeal.

Now, as voters in Tennessee consider Marsy’s Law, David is using his voice and his experience to help others understand the importance of victims’ rights.

Can you share a little about your personal experience as a crime victim within the court system in Kentucky?

My experience dealing with the court system was generally positive, considering we were dealing with a kidnapping and missing person case for more than 30 days, and ultimately, the murder of my dad.

The representatives from the courts did everything they promised they would. The people in the prosecutor’s office stayed in touch, offered counseling, and checked on my stepmother. The police department and the prosecutor’s office joined us in the killer’s parole hearing in November 2020, and we achieved our goal of a “serve out,” meaning there would be no chance of him ever being paroled.

Things were looking as good as they could be in the 26 years since the murder.

What were some of the challenges you faced, and how did the system respond to your needs?

Our problem with the Department of Corrections began in May of the following year, when the prosecutor’s office reached out to me about the chairperson of the parole board. She had issued a directive on April 1 stating that no inmates would be given a serve-out on their first try. She also made the directive retroactive, giving 44 killers new parole hearings.

I spoke with the prosecutor’s office and obtained a list of all the prosecutors who had cases affected by the directive. I called each of them. During this effort, I also spoke with the Governor’s office, the Attorney General’s office, and every prosecutor who had an affected case.

During this time, I was introduced to Marsy’s Law for Kentucky. Marsy’s Law was the basis the Attorney General used to file suit against the state for violating the constitutional rights of victims’ families. Through Marsy’s Law, we were able to stop the directive and keep criminals in prison.

During the process, I found out that the former parole board chairperson had misrepresented a judge’s ruling as the basis for her directive. She had also contacted other states and foreign countries to try to find a way around Marsy’s Law.

How do you think Marsy’s Law would help crime victims and survivors in Tennessee, and are there any specific rights or provisions that you believe would be particularly advantageous?

It is difficult to pick one particular provision because everyone’s situation is different. In our case, the right to be consulted and have our voices heard was key.

The Department of Corrections did not tell anyone what they were up to until a reporter broke the story a month and a half later.

Marsy’s Law gives crime victims and their representatives a guaranteed voice. It ensures that our voices are heard.

What advice would you give to other crime victims who are currently going through the justice system?

The best advice I could give someone is to keep fighting and get to know the victim advocate in the prosecutor’s office. They have a lot of resources and can help people in many ways.

These are the people who encouraged me when I started to feel defeated. They were also the people who introduced me to Marsy’s Law.

In closing, staying involved and volunteering with Marsy’s Law has been the most helpful thing I have been able to do to return to somewhat of a normal life.