Arkansas Prison Inmate Forgotten in Cell for Four Days

By Anastacia Mott Austin

Adriana Torres-Flores, 38, appeared before a judge in Arkansas last week to face charges of pirating CDs. She pleaded not guilty but was ordered to be held over by jail staff because she is allegedly an illegal immigrant from Mexico.

Torres-Flores had been in this country for 19 years, and all of her children were born in the United States.

The bailiff who took her to a holding cell became busy and forgot she was there. Brought in on a Thursday, heavy snows in Little Rock, Arkansas cancelled court cases on Friday, and Torres-Flores was forgotten in the cell over the weekend without food, water, or access to a toilet.

Nobody heard her pounding on the heavy steel doors of the cell.

Bailiff Jarrod Hankins had only been a bailiff for about two weeks, said Washington County sheriff Tim Helder. Hankins was supposed to have telephoned county jail officers to come and transport Torres-Flores to the county jail. He apparently forgot to make the initial call, and later became busy and did not remember that she was there.

Court employees noticed her on Monday morning, and she was taken to a local hospital and treated for dehydration and released.

Andres Chao, the Mexian consul in Little Rock, had met with the sheriff’s department as well as Torres-Flores. He told reporters he was concerned and wanted to make sure that this doesn’t happen to anyone else.

Measures are already being taken to ensure that it doesn’t, including installing a camera in the holding cell and a light that will remain on as long as a person is in the cell.

Hankins had immediately admitted forgetting about the prisoner after she was found, and was placed on a 30-day suspension, but will be able to return to his position when the suspension is over. Sherriff Tim Helder made a statement to the press defending his decision to keep Hankins on staff, saying, "I realize some people may have expected Hankins to be terminated. However, my philosophy is if an employee makes a mistake while trying their best to perform their duties I will try to salvage them."

Helder added that Hankins had had a perfect employee record prior to the incident.

"You know, it was a very unfortunate situation," said county judge Jerry Hunton to reporters.

As for Torres-Flores, she told the press through her son, who was interpreting for her, that she forgives Hankins. "She says that she's not really mad, but she hopes that error doesn’t occur again."