NCJ Number
124918
Journal
Federal Probation Volume: 54 Issue: 2 Dated: (June 1990) Pages: 27-32
Date Published
1990
Length
6 pages
Annotation
The prison setting has been a major area of concern since the AIDS crisis descended on the nation. The administrators of correctional institutions have had to react to the threat of AIDS in an environment of initial ignorance and change in theories of cause, connection, and risk of infection.
Abstract
The current model parallels the Federal Bureau of Prisons policy approaches; most State systems are following comparable policies. Inmates alarmed by the AIDS threat and inmates infected with the virus who are subject to unyielding isolation have reacted with the initiation of litigation. Five years of legal experience with AIDS control policies in prisons shows that prison systems and their officials have been granted leeway and deference in measuring their management initiatives and policies against inmate civil rights. There are two areas in which Federal courts have shown a disposition to recognize the potential validity of such claims. These are careless or unnecessary breaches of confidentiality at the HIV or AIDS status of prisons and gross negligence, misdiagnosis, or mistreatment by medical personnel of inmates with the disease. More needs to be done to bring correctional institutions in line with American Correctional Association guidelines, the Presidential Commission recommendations, and the Bureau of Prisons' approach to management of the AIDS problem and to garner the resources necessary for proper care and treatment of HIV-positive inmates. 21 cases sited, 1 note.