Guardian: My son was killed in a Texas jail cell. Nobody was held accountable

On 11 February 2009, my son, Rafael Solis, was taken into custody by police in Webb County, Texas. Three days later, the 38-year-old was dead in his cell with injuries so horrific that the Webb County coroner concluded that his death was a homicide.

But there has still been no accountability for what happened, and no justice for my family. I am determined to make sure that changes.

Rafael wasn’t a violent man, and he wasn’t arrested on a violent charge. Police took him into custody after he fell behind on child support payments, despite the fact that his two sons were secure – they lived with their father and me until just before Rafael’s death. He always made sure his two boys had a roof over their head, food on the table and everything they needed to succeed in school. He worked hard, driving 18-wheelers on long-haul trips across the country, so that his family would never have to do without.

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So I was surprised when, on 11 February, I received a call while at work from my neighbor, letting me know that police had shown up at my home and taken Rafael.

When I called the Webb County jail to check on him, I was told to call back “three or four days later”. But as any mother can understand, there was no way I was going to allow my son to sit in jail for days with no information on how he was doing or what was happening. On 13 February, I showed up at the Webb County jail.

After much pleading, they let me see my son. Over the course of about 10 minutes, Rafael told me that he was being given his medication, including his pill for blood pressure, and that he was doing well. His only complaint was that the jail was cold, and he needed money to buy warmer socks and underwear. I left $20 for the purchase of those items, and told him I would check on him again very soon.

That was the last time I ever saw Rafael alive.

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The truth, we now know from official reports, was that Rafael was put in handcuffs and shackles, held face down against the floor of his cell, stomped on and beaten until he died.

He had two fractured ribs, diaphragm contusions, hemorrhages on his back and chest and bruises and abrasions all over his body. A subsequent report from the Texas Rangers even noted there were cross-patterns on his body that matched the laces from a jailor’s boot and a bruise on his face that matched the pattern of the drain on the floor of his cell.

The jailers claim that Rafael was experiencing alcohol withdrawal, and jailors were just trying help by putting his pants on him so he could be transported to the hospital. But broken ribs aren’t a symptom of alcohol withdrawal. And bruises all over your body, or boot prints on your chest, don’t usually result from trying to get someone get dressed.

According to the coroner, the jailors’ “help” asphyxiated Rafael, and he died.

Yet when a court recently ruled that seven jailors implicated in Rafael’s death should stand trial in a case saying their excessive force killed my son, all seven appealed. Each now claims they have immunity from prosecution because, well, they were just doing their jobs, in their official capacity, at the Webb County jail. The appeal is pending as my family and I continue to wait for justice.

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http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/feb/12/rafael-solis-stomped-to-death-texas-jail-cell-2009-nobody-held-accountable