Farris' death was entirely avoidable but, tragically, few Counties in Washington State currently follow best practices in housing criminal suspects that have severe mental or emotional health challenges.

The best place to house people like Farris is not in a jail, but in the custodial ward of a hospital, where they can remain in secure custody but under the primary supervision of medical professionals.

If Island County doesn't have the resources to create such a custodial ward for itself then they should combine efforts and resources with neighboring counties to create such a ward for the region that is centrally-located and which they all use and help to manage.

Creating and then sharing the costs and the custodial and medical personnel to staff such a ward is one way Island County and its neighboring counties can avoid unnecessary tragedies like Keaton Farris in the future.