Corrections1 Staff
Human Rights Watch and the ACLU are claiming that Alabama and South Carolina subject HIV-positive prisoners to “cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment” by segregating them in violation of international law, Reuters is reporting.
In a report released Wednesday, the rights groups claimed the two states were the last in the nation to still combine mandatory HIV testing with immediate isolation and segregation for those inmates who test positive. They called for an immediate end to the policy.
The report, titled “Sentenced to Stigma: Segregation of HIV-Positive Prisoners in Alabama and South Carolina”, claims prisoners in the two states’ HIV designated units face harassment and systematic discrimination by being forced to wear armbands indicating their HIV status and to eat and worship separately. The report also claims HIV-positive prisoners are denied equal participation in prison work programs and re-entry opportunities.
Officials in both states, however, argue that segregation is necessary to provide medical care and to prevent HIV transmission.
What do you think? Is there a justifiable reason for segregating HIV-positive inmates?