1. United States
2. Ore.
3. Letter

Gov Kotek — Tina — as a long-time supporter and acquaintance of yours and Aimee’s, I implore you to exonerate Brian “Hakiym” Simpson. His situation was clearly motivated by hate speech and violent rhetoric from his so-called victim. Defending himself from someone who clearly meant him both physical and emotional harm shouldn’t be punished like this. The prison system isn’t going to fix this problem (or, frankly, any problem), and we need to do better for those who are backed into corners by hatred. Please exonerate Brian Simpson.