SOURCE: democracynow.org Wow. That's the best thing I've heard all day. I know cops are fucking stupid and that the justice system is flawed, but seriously? Yeah, guys, let's put an HIV positive man in the prison system, where rape is rampant. I know prisoners are "bad people", but c'mon. They have rights too, and ultimately, despite their crimes, they're still human beings. I guess they could stop raping each other, but this is for sure going to kill them at a much quicker pace than normal. Also, 35 for spitting at a police officer? Even the CDCP says you can't contract HIV from saliva, so the "deadly weapon" point is mute. Although, fair enough, since apparently he uses his HIV as a tool of fear. He apparently goes around biting people, and that's a sure fire way to infect someone. So, the case at hand... what do you do with someone like this? He's HIV positive, homeless, and desperate. He goes around biting and spitting on people, eventually he'll infect someone. Do you let him stay on the streets, and infect people, or send him to jail, to surely infect someone when he gets raped, or rapes someone himself. Either way, people will die because of him. Although, I'm sure he's not the first person in prison to have HIV. EDIT: Title shouldv'e been "HIV+ homeless man sentenced to 35 years".
You can't get HIV by being spit on since saliva is full of disinfecting weapons, but yeah biting is pretty fatal I'd say. 35 Years is a fucking lot though, they should help the guy while he's in jail I guess.
The only other option I could think of, would be to put him in some sort of mental health facility, but there isn't enough information at hand to say whether that could even happen (we don't know if he's mentally ill). Prison seems to be the only option, but 35 years? That sounds a bit much.
I'm sure there's some kind of institution he could be in. So he goes around biting and spitting on people. He's probably just another mad homeless person, only with HIV of course.
I'm kind of still in shock that it's 35 years. Thirty five goddamned years. That is a hell of a long time.
I think this is really stupid...Firstly HIV cannot be passed on though saliva & secondly what are the chance of him coming out of jail? 35 years???...he'll probably die beore that......
Doesn't this completely go against the whole notion of a deadly weapon? By definition, "assault with a deadly weapon" has to involve some kind of foreign object. Ever seen Con Air? That whole "self as a deadly weapon" premise to the movie isn't actually a legitimate charge...or at least it's not supposed to be. But it is Texas...
In most states, your fists and arms -- any part of your body which can cause harm, really -- are considered deadly weapons.