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| HIV inmates set to join work release |
| By al.com |
| Published: 08/14/2009 |
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State changes policy for those with no symptoms The Alabama Department of Corrections has reversed a long-standing policy and will begin allowing HIV-infected prisoners to participate in work release programs. Alabama's male prisoners with HIV are housed in the Limestone Correctional Facility; female prisoners with the virus are held in Tutwiler Prison in Wetumpka. There were about 250 male prisoners with HIV as of June 30, the Corrections Department said. HIV is the human immunodeficiency virus, which damages the immune system and can cause AIDS. It cannot be contracted through casual contact, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Corrections Department spokesman Brian Corbett said it is unknown how many of the male prisoners will be eligible for work release, but they will be housed at the Decatur work release facility and work in the surrounding area. The women's HIV-infected prison population averages around 15 per month, Corbett said. Female prisoners with HIV who are eligible for work release will be housed at a facility in Montgomery. Richard Allen, commissioner of the Department of Corrections, made the decision to expand the work release program because it is "the right thing to do." Allen said the policy stemmed from people's unfamiliarity with HIV, and as more has become known about it, attitudes have changed. "It was just time," Allen said. "When those inmates first went into prison, people didn't know how HIV was transmitted and they were scared to death. As we've learned about HIV, people now realize it's not like swine flu; you can't get it from shaking hands. The attitude toward those inmates has changed considerably. "And we do screen medically, very carefully. If anyone gets sick, they can't work. The only folks participating will be the ones not showing any kinds of symptoms." Work release prisoners are typically within a few years of their parole eligibility or release date and prisoners jailed for some offenses are barred from work release, Corbett said. Alabama and South Carolina were the only states that barred HIV-infected inmates from work release programs, and the policy has long been criticized by the American Civil Liberties Union, prisoner rights groups and other advocacy organizations. South Carolina's policy remains in effect, the ACLU said Thursday. Nevada ended a similar policy in the past year. The ACLU praised Allen's decision but lamented it has taken so many years to resolve. "This is a day that is long overdue, and we are thrilled that it has finally arrived," said Margaret Winter, associate director of the ACLU National Prison Project. "There simply has been no justifiable basis to deny participation in this program to a class of people simply because of their HIV status." She said Allen "deserves credit for taking a stand for justice and equality." Work release programs are designed to allow prisoners to gradually acclimate back into society by working a regular shift at a job. Read More. |
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