"Thanks for all the selfless sacrifices, encouragement and guidance. Happy Father's Day to all you wonderful dads,
and especially to the best father a lad could ever hope for. Love you, dad" - Keaton
and especially to the best father a lad could ever hope for. Love you, dad" - Keaton
If you have some words or photos you would like to share, please send them to us and we will post them here.
Words of love, words of less love... your words.
Words of love, words of less love... your words.
Thank you for all you're doing. My heart goes out to Keaton and his family. This should never ever have happened. The inhumaneness is beyond belief. I sent the following email to Greg Banks today and a similar letter to the editor of the Whidbey News-Times. Feel free to use or excerpt any of it helps in any way.
Dear Mr. Banks,
All involved in Keaton Farris’ death at Island County Jail must be held accountable.
It is mind-boggling how many people were involved with Keaton Farris in a very short period of time and how they piled on abuse after abuse until he died. Now it appears Island County Sheriff Mark Brown is taking some action, although it’s hard to fathom how he and his predecessor missed the inept and dangerous leadership of Dennis De at the Island County Jail.
When Keaton was arrested he told the Lynnwood police officer: “I’m off my meds and I’m pretty anxious right now but your badge is calming me down”. 17 days later he was dead. The treatment he received at the hands of officers who are sworn to protect the people they serve was horrendous. As you now know, he was kept in isolation, stripped of his clothes other than a suicide smock, tasered, shackled to a restraint chair for hours on end, not given access to water, “taken to the ground” multiple times, denied even the most basic medical treatment, his medication lost and visits by his family denied. He died alone and was found by a jailer hours later who didn’t even have the decency to open the cell door to see if he was okay. Instead he poked a baton through a slot to see if Keaton was alive. I still find it hard to fathom the callousness of these people.
The treatment Keaton received at Island County Jail has happened before, but this time things got so carried away someone died. De Dennis (the now former jail administrator) and his subordinates habitually had vulnerable inmates stripped naked and provided with only a “suicide smock”, put into an unheated, unfurnished room called the Behavior Modification Module and isolated for days on end. They proclaimed all this was for the safety of the persons involved even when people were not self-harming or suicidal. This took place under at least two administrations and no one called Dennis out on this inhumane and degrading treatment of people. If they aren't held accountable now that they have killed someone, how can we say we have a justice system?
The jailers on duty and their supervisors are all culpable in Keaton’s death. They should have to spend a week in their own Behavior Modification Module in just a suicide smock and given just a couple dixie cups of water a day, but I know that would be considered inhumane. It is, and it was. What absolutely does need to happen is for each and every one of them to be put on trial for homicide, because that is what happened here. This was not a simple matter of broken processes. If you deny the means for a person to stay alive until they die, how can that be called anything but homicide?
I have a hard time believing that the people who committed and witnessed these crimes against Keaton live amongst us. I trust you and your office to bring charges against everyone involved and then prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law.
Thank you for your time,
Julie O'Brien
An Open Letter to Island County Prosecutor Greg Banks
Dear Mr. Banks,
If I owned a dog and I wanted to kill it, there are a number of ways I could do so: I could shoot it, bludgeon it, stab it, and so on. I could also put that dog on a chain and prevent it from accessing enough food and water to stay alive.
If my dog died because I confined it to a limited space and did not to give it enough water to stay alive, is there any reasonable person who would say that I did not kill my dog? Wouldn't I be guilty of the crime of cruelty to animals? If I did the same thing to a human, wouldn't I be guilty of killing that human?
Keaton Farris was confined to a limited space for 13 days in Island County Jail (ICJ). He was entirely dependent on the management and staff of ICJ to supply him with enough food and water to maintain his life, because they used coercive force to take away his own ability to provide these essentials for himself.
Keaton died as a direct result of the failure of the management and staff of ICJ to give him enough water to stay alive. He was killed by lack of water just as surely as he would have been killed by a bullet to the head. Whether any individual members of the management or staff of ICJ intended to kill him is arguable; what is not arguable is that they did kill him.
As you know, under Washington State law, Homicide is the killing of a human being by the act, procurement, or omission of another, death occurring at any time, and is either (1) murder, (2) homicide by abuse, (3) manslaughter, (4) excusable homicide, or (5) justifiable homicide.
Because killing a human being by dehydration is without a doubt unconstitutionally cruel and unusual punishment, there can be no question that this homicide was neither excusable nor justifiable. The killing of Keaton Farris was a crime. The only question is which actors and which omittors are guilty of which crime(s): murder, homicide by abuse, or manslaughter.
Mr Banks, you were elected by the people of Island County to prosecute people who commit crimes in Island county. The people of Island County elected you because they believed that you would do your best to bring justice to those who have been wronged by the criminal actions or omissions of others.
Keaton Farris was killed in an extraordinarily cruel way by the criminal negligence, recklessness, and extreme indifference to human life manifested by the management and staff of ICJ. I trust and pray that you will do your best to bring justice to Keaton, to his family, to the many hundreds of people from Island County, San Juan County, and elsewhere who love Keaton, and to the millions of citizens of this state and this country who never met Keaton, but are horrified by the criminal and cruel acts of government officials acting in their name.
Norm Messer
I didn't know Keaton, but I was at Sunday's protest and put together this post on my photo blog:
Thank you for letting me share Sunday with you, and I am so sorry that this happened to Keaton. My love to you. |
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So I have just had the time to sit down and read the article in the Weekly and I have to say I am getting so sick of hearing about Sheriff brown and his tears. Why do we give a crap about his tears? His negligence lead to this. He says he needs more staff....for what? He can't manage the ones he has already.
Three Island County Commissioners are "outraged and heartbroken"......are they going to pressure the Prosecuting Attorney to press criminal charges? If someone had neglected a dog to the point of death, criminal charges would be filed. If a child had died of neglect, criminal charges would be filed. Keaton died of neglect too, why is it even a question if charges will be filed?? - Shannon Hoffman
Three Island County Commissioners are "outraged and heartbroken"......are they going to pressure the Prosecuting Attorney to press criminal charges? If someone had neglected a dog to the point of death, criminal charges would be filed. If a child had died of neglect, criminal charges would be filed. Keaton died of neglect too, why is it even a question if charges will be filed?? - Shannon Hoffman
Graphic design from Madison Manly-Niebel:
Wow... All the evidence is adding up to make a suspicious looking story. The things that happened to Keaton in those last weeks were unacceptable. I miss you man. Let's hope that some change does happen; I'll be part of the noise demanding it on Sunday. - Sam Barr
I could pick apart this report all night but instead I will pray for justice, peace and healing, and for God’s mercy.
Page 23/51: “… his total intake for the time he was in the Island County Jail appears to be approximately 185 ounces.”
Page 24/51: “… total intake should have been approximately 791.24 ounces for survival situation.” He received only 23% of the amounted needed to survive. If a parent did this to their child, he/she would be arrested and convicted of neglect, child endangerment, and homicide. Some Florida parents were recently arrested for leaving their capable 11-year old son outside to play for 90 minutes (the horror!). The authorities claimed the boy had no access to water, which was completely false as there were two sinks and two hoses. Regardless, this was 90 minutes and CPS puts the boy in foster care and the parents are charged with a felony. Keaton’s water was SHUT OFF and he was at the mercy of others to provide him with adequate fluids. Who protected him? - HDH -
Page 23/51: “… his total intake for the time he was in the Island County Jail appears to be approximately 185 ounces.”
Page 24/51: “… total intake should have been approximately 791.24 ounces for survival situation.” He received only 23% of the amounted needed to survive. If a parent did this to their child, he/she would be arrested and convicted of neglect, child endangerment, and homicide. Some Florida parents were recently arrested for leaving their capable 11-year old son outside to play for 90 minutes (the horror!). The authorities claimed the boy had no access to water, which was completely false as there were two sinks and two hoses. Regardless, this was 90 minutes and CPS puts the boy in foster care and the parents are charged with a felony. Keaton’s water was SHUT OFF and he was at the mercy of others to provide him with adequate fluids. Who protected him? - HDH -
A question arose in another place on FB about why the protest was happening after the sheriff apologized and vowed to put corrected procedures in place. The page owner eloquently answered the person questioning the need and purpose, and caused me to think and then to join in with this:
"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." Edmund Burke
This does not only apply to intentional, deliberate wrong doing - this applies as well to failed systems that are supposed to protect those most vulnerable and human failings that forget the care and protection of others is our highest purpose. In this, as in so many things, it is our individual responsibility (ordinary caring people independent of the systems and agencies we have created) to stand up and be counted. - Rand Stamm
"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." Edmund Burke
This does not only apply to intentional, deliberate wrong doing - this applies as well to failed systems that are supposed to protect those most vulnerable and human failings that forget the care and protection of others is our highest purpose. In this, as in so many things, it is our individual responsibility (ordinary caring people independent of the systems and agencies we have created) to stand up and be counted. - Rand Stamm
We all agree that this should NEVER have happened. I have worked in the medical field for over three decades, the last eight of those years in a rural clinic. We see a wide variety of situations on the island. We have combative patients, patients who come in under custody, some even in restraints. We care for a large number of people with mental health issues. We are professionals. As professionals, we do our job of providing care to our patients. We provide the needed care, NO MATTER HOW OFFENSIVE their behavior. If someone is dangerous, we have the deputies standing by.
This jail is 6 minutes walking from the nearest emergency room.
911 would come to the door if called.
The fact that Keaton died from dehydration, a process which takes anywhere from several days to a few weeks and is preceded by head aches, cramps, general malaise then a lapse into unconsciousness before death, indicates a GROSS lapse in observation, judgement, and ability to react on the part of everyone who came into contact with Keaton in the weeks leading to his death. These symptoms would have been evident for likely for the entire week preceding his tragic death and may well have presented as different in behavior from that previous.
People who die from dehydration may also experience delirium and altered serum sodium. Were these symptoms observed and misinterpreted as a mental health issue? Why was mental health treatment not sought? Why was he in a jail this long when he clearly needed medical attention? In the report, it is stated that there was a question of his mental stability. Why was he not sent to a proper facility, trained to manage these issues? We do not know.
The nurse who 'evaluated' him should have had more time and possibly more experience to assess and report accurately what she saw. Is she under investigation as well? Clearly she was not able to assess and advocate for this young man at a very critical juncture in his life.
With modern technology and all the manuals for procedure that we have available today, we must never forget the necessity and value of simple human interaction, observation, curiosity and evaluation.
It HORRIFIES me to think that in this advanced nation, in this enlightened area of the great northwest, something so tragic, so preventable and so damaging can happen to one of our own.
Keaton was a lovely young man with a tremendous heart. I've watched him grow from the bulge of promise in Tiffany's belly to a young man. And then a few weeks back I joined an anguished island, family and friends at his memorial. Since April 8th, I have had the terrible misfortune to hear my children and my husband weep for this young man because of this injustice. Because of this negligence that took him from us. As a mother, my heart is broken for Fred and Tiffany. As a Lopezian, I am FURIOUS that we have lost one our boys...a good kid, a kind person. The damage created from a few days of blatant negligence by a few people who we trusted to administer justice and safety in our community is incalculable and unacceptable.
I feel that the Whidbey Jail and the entire legal justice system who handled him from the first arrest through his sad end fell down badly on so many things related to this situation that it fairly boggles the mind.
So as I grapple to come to terms with this wrenching loss, I will attend the vigil, I will love this family, I will learn to heal the anger and fury in my heart, I will move past the deep sadness I feel and I will tell people that I love them, I will be grateful for who I have in my life and I will be a little more kind to those who look to be having a bad day. They might have just lost something very dear to them. They might just need a kind hand or a genuine smile.
And I will stand with this community and family as we seek answers. - Heather Arps
This jail is 6 minutes walking from the nearest emergency room.
911 would come to the door if called.
The fact that Keaton died from dehydration, a process which takes anywhere from several days to a few weeks and is preceded by head aches, cramps, general malaise then a lapse into unconsciousness before death, indicates a GROSS lapse in observation, judgement, and ability to react on the part of everyone who came into contact with Keaton in the weeks leading to his death. These symptoms would have been evident for likely for the entire week preceding his tragic death and may well have presented as different in behavior from that previous.
People who die from dehydration may also experience delirium and altered serum sodium. Were these symptoms observed and misinterpreted as a mental health issue? Why was mental health treatment not sought? Why was he in a jail this long when he clearly needed medical attention? In the report, it is stated that there was a question of his mental stability. Why was he not sent to a proper facility, trained to manage these issues? We do not know.
The nurse who 'evaluated' him should have had more time and possibly more experience to assess and report accurately what she saw. Is she under investigation as well? Clearly she was not able to assess and advocate for this young man at a very critical juncture in his life.
With modern technology and all the manuals for procedure that we have available today, we must never forget the necessity and value of simple human interaction, observation, curiosity and evaluation.
It HORRIFIES me to think that in this advanced nation, in this enlightened area of the great northwest, something so tragic, so preventable and so damaging can happen to one of our own.
Keaton was a lovely young man with a tremendous heart. I've watched him grow from the bulge of promise in Tiffany's belly to a young man. And then a few weeks back I joined an anguished island, family and friends at his memorial. Since April 8th, I have had the terrible misfortune to hear my children and my husband weep for this young man because of this injustice. Because of this negligence that took him from us. As a mother, my heart is broken for Fred and Tiffany. As a Lopezian, I am FURIOUS that we have lost one our boys...a good kid, a kind person. The damage created from a few days of blatant negligence by a few people who we trusted to administer justice and safety in our community is incalculable and unacceptable.
I feel that the Whidbey Jail and the entire legal justice system who handled him from the first arrest through his sad end fell down badly on so many things related to this situation that it fairly boggles the mind.
So as I grapple to come to terms with this wrenching loss, I will attend the vigil, I will love this family, I will learn to heal the anger and fury in my heart, I will move past the deep sadness I feel and I will tell people that I love them, I will be grateful for who I have in my life and I will be a little more kind to those who look to be having a bad day. They might have just lost something very dear to them. They might just need a kind hand or a genuine smile.
And I will stand with this community and family as we seek answers. - Heather Arps
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