"I see your hate, and raise you One Love." - Keaton Farris

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Keaton Farris was a writer, a traveler and a loving friend to many.

Keaton was murdered in 2015 by guards at Island County Jail who dehydrated and starved him to death, forging their logs to cover their tracks.

I learned of Keaton's death from his mother Tiffany in June 2015. I'd been longtime friends with Tiffany and had first met Keaton when he was about ten years old.

At one point Tiffany mentioned to me that Keaton had recently been on Capitol Hill and that he had mentioned to her that he'd thought he'd seen me. Similarly, I remembered someone on the hill staring at me that seemed familiar but I couldn't quite place.

As we approached the launch of Brush of Seattle, I felt that Keaton should be on the site to keep his memory and his story alive in another way, to continue educating people about what happened to him.

Both Tiffany and Keaton's father, Freddy, agreed. Freddy sent these photos taken by photographer Jenn McNaught. I was touched to see the image of Keaton appreciating the Comet Tavern mural which seemed to resonate with Brush of Seattle.

If you'd like to learn more about Keaton, visit his website where his friends and family keep his story alive and accessible so that no one else loses a loved one to the justice system — of course, Keaton's story is an ongoing story. Every few weeks, we read about men or women, often black or people of color, killed by police or killed in prison.

I quote now from memorial writings on his website:

"Keaton planned to one day sail the world and live off the land while he continued to write.

Keaton is a son (to Tiffany, Fred and Susan), brother (to Vivian and Mia), nephew (to Lou, Tammy, Chad, Crockett, Kerrick, Della, Anne, Laura, Karen and Cale), grandson (to Vicki, Sandi, Merry, Fred, Tina, Tom and Pat) and a great friend (too many to list).

Keaton's smile, kind words and compassionate heart will be missed, his spirit will be with us forever."

You can read about Keaton's story in this four part series at the Everett Herald.

We recognize that our site is not adding personal photos for all people unjustly killed by police, such as Seattle's Charleena Lyles and John T. Williams. Certainly, the Black Lives Matter protests have shown that Seattle police continue to be a force for violence more than for justice for all.

However, Black Lives Matter is represented well on Brush of Seattle in a variety of murals by local artists as is Charleena Lyles. And, I will be adding the deer in the crosswalk legacy mural for John T. Williams as well.

We welcome your feedback and suggestions. Email us at brushofseattle@gmail.com

- Jeff Reifman