Currently, Formerly Incarcerated Indigenous Men Address Washington State Supreme Court

On June 11, 2025, three currently or formerly incarcerated Indigenous brothers addressed the Washington State Supreme Court regarding the intersection of Indigenous historical traumas and modern juvenile transgressions.

Charles Longshore (Skokomish), Travis ComesLast (Assiniboine Sioux), and Benjamin Brockie (A'aninin/Ft. Belknap) each shared powerful testimonials with the State Justices about their walks to state prison, and their work to rehabilitate themselves and seek redemption and forgiveness from those who they have harmed.

With the State Justices sitting in the Washington State Temple of Justice, Charles testified by Zoom from the Washington Corrections Center, while Travis testified remotely from the Airway Heights Corrections Center.

It is believed to be the first time incarcerated people have directly addressed the Supreme Court from within the Temple of Justice.

Ben, who walked free after earning clemency in 2024, testified from a local hospital, the day after his wife gave birth to their first baby. He us currently enrolled at the University of Washington.

The brothers spoke as part of a Symposium hosted by the Supreme Court’s Minority and Justice Commission titled, “TÁĆELŚW̱ SIÁM: A Call to Justice for Indigenous Peoples.” The Court and Commission convened the Symposium in response to a 2024 Resolution of the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians (ATNI) titled, “Rectifying the Dehumanization of Indigenous People in State Legal Systems.”

ATNI expressed concern about “the overrepresentation of Indigenous Americans in every stage of [Washington state] criminal and juvenile justice systems,” citing “the vestiges of colonization.”  ATNI called upon the Court to address “the historical and continued dehumanization of Indigenous people in Washington state.”

You can watch the three brothers’ testimonials on TVW soon after the 1:56 mark, here.