Human Rights Watch and ACLU Reports HIV Inmate Segregation in Two U.S. States

Alabama and South Carolina are the last two states to combine mandatory HIV testing of prisoners with segregation of those found to be HIV-positive, two rights groups said in a new 45-page report.

Prisoners from HIV units are forced to wear armbands or other designators of HIV status, according to the joint report by Human Rights Watch and the American Civil Liberties Union's National Prison Project. The prisoners also eat and worship separately, and they are denied participation in re-entry programs and other opportunities for transitioning back into society.

"The segregation and discrimination against HIV-positive prisoners continues to this day in Alabama and South Carolina, and constitutes cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment in violation of international law," the report said. HIV-unit prisoners are subjected to stigma, harassment, and systematic discrimination, according to the report.

"Once they put you in the lockup at reception, you're a marked man," the report quoted "Adam D." in Alabama as saying. "That's the bad thing about it, everybody knows as soon as you go in that dorm you're HIV-positive," "Mary W." said. "I don't think it's fair they've got us singled out like that, when folks have come in and not told their families yet."

In Mississippi, "prisoners described constantly being called 'punks and faggots -- the guards assume we're all gay,'" the report quoted one inmate as saying. Last month, after reviewing the report's finding before publication, Mississippi officials announced they are ending the segregation policy.

"Segregation of persons living with HIV is no longer justifiable inside or outside of prison," the report said. "Prison systems throughout the United States and around the world are providing medical care for HIV and preventing its transmission while respecting human rights."

"Alabama and South Carolina can, and should, end their own isolation by reforming these policies without delay," the rights groups said.

To access the report, visit www.aclu.org/files/assets/health0410webwcover.pdf.

Back to other news for April 2010