Island County Prosecutor Greg Banks this week announced that he is not the right person to perform a review into the death of Keaton Farris at the Coupeville jail this past April.

While perhaps a bit overdue, this was the right call and we applaud the prosecutor’s decision to step away from this important investigation. The results may yet result in no criminal proceedings, no matter who performs it, but he is absolutely correct that his conclusions would always be suspect.

Farris, 25, was a prisoner in the Coupeville Jail and was found deceased in his cell at 12:20 a.m. on April 8. It was later determined he died of dehydration.

Banks initially resisted calls to step away from the case due to his closeness to the Island County Sheriff’s Office, saying this was one of the responsibilities to which he was elected. We share that belief, that he is the public’s chosen representative and that it’s his paramount duty to make some of the “tough calls.”

In this case, however, the review can be performed by another county’s elected prosecutor with competency and without the potential bias, real or imagined. In handing over his authority, Banks didn’t erode his trust with constituents — he bolstered it.

It was the right call.