Arkansas Woman, Left in Cell, Goes 4 Days With No Food or Water

[Bitogno]

A woman was locked for four days in a tiny holding cell in a northern Arkansas (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/national/usstatesterritoriesandpossessions/arkansas/index.html?inline=nyt-geo) courthouse, forgotten by the authorities and left without food or water, the local Sheriff’s Department said Tuesday.
The woman, Adriana Torres-Flores, 38, a longtime illegal immigrant from Mexico, slept on the floor with only a shoe for a pillow, and with nothing to drink except her own urine, The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported. There was no bathroom in the cell.
A bailiff had apparently forgotten that he placed Ms. Torres-Flores, a mother of three, in the cell last Thursday, and simply left her in the empty courthouse, in Fayetteville, over the weekend, said the chief deputy of the Washington County Sheriff’s Department, Jay Cantrell. A snowstorm meant that there were far fewer people than usual working at the courthouse on Friday.
“He just flat forgot about her,” Mr. Cantrell said, adding that the bailiff, Jarrod Hankins, had been placed on administrative leave, having been on the job a few months. “It was just a horrible mistake,” Mr. Cantrell said.
When the bailiff opened the door of the cell on Monday, Ms. Torres-Flores was lying on the floor, the deputy said. The cell typically holds prisoners for no more than an hour, measures 9 feet by 10 feet and contains only a metal table with benches that swing out from it. It has a steel door and concrete walls.
“From what I understand — it sounds horrible to say — it was an oversight,” said Nathan Lewis, Ms. Torres-Flores’s lawyer. “No one is walking around there Friday, and she just got left in there over the weekend.”
“There’s no water, there’s no food,” Mr. Lewis added. “She basically said it was really bad.”
She was taken to a hospital and treated, and is now recovering at home, Mr. Lewis said, “very worn out from the whole ordeal.”
Ms. Torres-Flores has been in the United States for 19 years, and her children were born here, though she is in the country illegally, said her immigration (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/i/immigration_and_refugees/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier) lawyer, Roy Petty. Mr. Petty said she had been among numerous people arrested at a flea market on charges related to the sale of pirated DVDs and CDs.
She went to court Thursday for a hearing on a plea agreement over the charges, but decided to plead not guilty. She was then placed in the holding cell for transfer to the county jail, since the new plea was contrary to the terms of her original release on bond. Instead, she was forgotten.
“Everybody is backing away from it as fast as they can,” Mr. Petty said. “Frankly, that’s how they treat Hispanics down here. They treat Hispanics like cattle, like less than human.”
Mr. Cantrell, the deputy, said there would be an investigation. “There was no malicious intent,” he said. “The whole thing is terrible.”
In Little Rock, Rita Sklar, executive director of the A.C.L.U. of Arkansas, said the organization was very concerned.
“There certainly have been a lot of problems in that corner of the state, in terms of police treatment of Latinos and bigoted statements by government officials,” Ms. Sklar said. “We’re looking into the general problem in northwest Arkansas of racial profiling and abuse of power.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/12/us/12jail.html?ex=1363060800&en=2644de79e3e4ae4a&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

[SBL]

Something very similar happened in the town where I grew up not too long ago. Just plain forgotten.

[NavyTimes]

Holy crap, what if there had been a fire?

[Bongopete]

Can you say; 'toast'?

[tomonator]

I'm sure she will get credit for "time served". :) Who's paying for her hospital bill?

[Andreas]

Dident South Park do an episode about this long ago?

[wotsnext]

Expect a Trillion Dollar lawsuit any time..

[hank]

Expect a Trillion Dollar lawsuit any time..

Right, a trillion dollars.

Why shouldn't she sue? That is certainly unconstitutional treatment. I'd represent her in a heartbeat. And I'd win. Juries hate stuff like this. Even in northeast Arkansas.

hank

[Mu-Meson]

Give her a settlement, and deport her. Fair?

[sreto]

Well if you give her the settlement why would you bother deporting her? She no longer will be taking American jobs. You know the ones which Americans dont want to do.

[Calanen]

Give her a settlement, and deport her. Fair?

Sure. But she'd be able to sponsor herself back with the money she'll get by buying an american business.

I imagine the Sheriffs Dept has been saving some talks with their insurer. And saying, you know what fellas, I reckon we oughta allow a bit more in the budget for our public liability premium next year...

[Alpheus]

Well if you give her the settlement why would you bother deporting her? She no longer will be taking American jobs. You know the ones which Americans dont want to do.

You deport her because she is an illegal immigrant. You give her the settlement because that **** shouldn't have happened. And as for that crap about jobs that Americans wont do, well they will do them, it just means that Walmart will have to pay more then minimum wage.

[Chulo]

Well if you give her the settlement why would you bother deporting her? She no longer will be taking American jobs. You know the ones which Americans dont want to do.

jezz get a clue

let me explain it one way

who would u rather hire if you had only money to worry about? a person that will do the job for 4 bucks or one that will do it for 6 bucks?

why does person 2 have to get more pay that person 1? Taxes and insurance for one? Who said they were UNWILLING?

[tomonator]

Right, a trillion dollars.

Why shouldn't she sue? That is certainly unconstitutional treatment. I'd represent her in a heartbeat. And I'd win. Juries hate stuff like this. Even in northeast Arkansas.

hank

Of course your right, a woman who has been in the country for 19 yrs, illegally, paying no taxes, will sue and win some extortionate amount of money from the taxpayers she's been living off for the past 19yrs. Her lawyer will take the lions share of the settlement and she will take the rest back to the relatives in Mexico when she is deported. Only winner is the jerk0ff lawyer. Sounds like a nice case. Enjoy

[Calanen]

Her lawyer will take the lions share of the settlement and she will take the rest back to the relatives in Mexico when she is deported. Only winner is the jerk0ff lawyer. Sounds like a nice case. Enjoy

Standard no win no fee is 30%, sometimes 40% - so she will go home with 70 or 60. So I think she will get the lion's share.

[Ought Six]

NT:
"Holy crap, what if there had been a fire?"If she had been in there for four days with no water and drinking her own urine, she was probably close to or in kidney failure. One more day and they would have likely found a corpse, instead of a live person.

[LouisFromMaine]

Ok first of all I think that this is a sad accident, that lady is indeed a human being and entitled to those rights on the other hand she was here illegally which means she shouldnt have been here and therefor that wouldn't have happened. Give her some money and send her home

[eskachig]

Ok first of all I think that this is a sad accident, that lady is indeed a human being and entitled to those rights on the other hand she was here illegally which means she shouldnt have been here and therefor that wouldn't have happened. Give her some money and send her homeI don't think that there is an 'other hand' here. She is a criminal, and illegal immigration is one of her crimes. The fact that her rights have been violated has nothing to do with those crimes, it's a completely separate issue.

[Lt. James Anderson]

Only 4 days?
That ain't that bad ... :)

[LouisFromMaine]

Ok first of all I think that this is a sad accident, that lady is indeed a human being and entitled to those rights on the other hand she was here illegally which means she shouldnt have been here and therefor that wouldn't have happened. Give her some money and send her home


I don't think that there is an 'other hand' here. She is a criminal, and illegal immigration is one of her crimes. The fact that her rights have been violated has nothing to do with those crimes, it's a completely separate issue.

I would have to disagree with you because her rights were violated because she was a criminal. Had she not been arrested she wouldn't have been left there.

[hank]

Of course your right, a woman who has been in the country for 19 yrs, illegally, paying no taxes, will sue and win some extortionate amount of money from the taxpayers she's been living off for the past 19yrs. Her lawyer will take the lions share of the settlement and she will take the rest back to the relatives in Mexico when she is deported. Only winner is the jerk0ff lawyer. Sounds like a nice case. Enjoy

First off, her illegal status has no bearing on the fact that she has suffered a tort and even maybe an intentional one at the hands of law enforcement. There is not and never has been any requirement that you be a citizen to avail yourself of civil remedy or even many constitutional ones.

Second, as Calanen said, plaintiffs' lawyers (which I am) make bw 33% - 40%. My standard fee is 40% and that is widely used in the Atlanta area. I know a few people who practice in AR and that is the range there as well.

Have the best fu*king day ever tomanator. Next time you're in Decatur Georgia let me know, I'll serve you with a subpoena or something fun like that. Then you'll have a real complaint about jerkoff lawyers.

hank

[hank]

paying no taxes

How the hell do you know this? ARe you familiar with AR and tax? There is sales tax on everything in that state. If she buys anything she pays a lot of tax. How do you know she doesn't pay income tax?

I'm going to let this go but you are completely full of s**t. You have no basis for any of your statements.

The woman could have died in that cell. What would you say then?

hank

[California Joe]

These threads, much like "Cop shoots rampaging retarded midget wielding machete" threads really seem to bring out the imbeciles with opinions. IWO.

[Firetxmi]

And as for that crap about jobs that Americans wont do, well they will do them, it just means that Walmart will have to pay more then minimum wage.

Then nobody would buy the products, they'd be too expensive compared to what we have become accustomed to paying.

[hank]

Alright CJ, I'll pipe down.

hank

[California Joe]

Hahaha if I was referring to you counselor, I would have said IWO Esq. :)

[tomonator]

How the hell do you know this? ARe you familiar with AR and tax? There is sales tax on everything in that state. If she buys anything she pays a lot of tax. How do you know she doesn't pay income tax?

I'm going to let this go but you are completely full of s**t. You have no basis for any of your statements.

The woman could have died in that cell. What would you say then?

hank

I knew you were a lawyer from previous treads. I was mostly exaggerating for effect. No serious offense meant. No I would not be happy if she died. Thanks for the invite though, southern hospitality? :)

[2Sheds_Jackson]

Interesting to google this story - it points out the political bias of the various news organizations. Some come right out and describe her as a "criminal illegal alien" who even after 19 years here doesn't speak English, others go with "salt of the earth" and "undocumented worker". I always laugh at that description..."undocumented worker" - it's a clever turn of phrase that makes one think they're all squared away, but for the fact that somebody forgot to write their name down. Yes, and in that same sense, I'm an undocumented brain surgeon.

[Bongopete]

Any lawyer will get most of the money.

[2Sheds_Jackson]

I say we double their take - by first awarding this woman a huge pile of money, then once she's loaded, sue the pants off her, on the behalf of the taxpayers that may have provided her services while she was victimizing them. In this way, they can derive sustenance from both the tears of the taxpayers, and the bitter tears of someone who was so close to realizing the American dream.

[sreto]

I would have to disagree with you because her rights were violated because she was a criminal.

So, wait, if you are a criminal you can expect your basic human rights to be violated?


Had she not been arrested she wouldn't have been left there.

How in the world does that work? She was arrested, but her being arrested has no impact that somebody put her in a cell and totally forgot about her, where she was deprived of food and water for four days.

[Calanen]

Any lawyer will get most of the money.

Did you read what Hank and I said? No win no fee is between 30-40 % depending on the case, where you are, the going rate, what the client negotiates etc. Let's say its 40, she gets 60% - which is not 'most' of the money.

And if she didnt have a lawyer prepared to take on the city and tried to represent herself, she'd get precisely zero.

[hank]

I knew you were a lawyer from previous treads. I was mostly exaggerating for effect. No serious offense meant. No I would not be happy if she died. Thanks for the invite though, southern hospitality? :)


Well in that case I'll buy you a drink. Vinegar and water, right?

hank