Law Homework Help

Please respond to the following 2 classmates with at least 160 words each, 2 references each and a biblical viewpoint with a cited scripture each. This is the ORIGINAL discussion post (you DO NOT have to respond to this one) Topic: HIV Testing Policy for Prisons

Thread: As a prison administrator (warden/superintendent), what would your recommendation be for HIV testing within the prison system? Why or why not? If so, when should it take place (e.g. during admission, anytime during incarceration, just prior to release)? Should the offenders who are HIV/AIDS positive be segregated? Would it be a violation of the offender’s rights to be segregated from the general population?

1. Tillett- Currently, HIV testing of inmates is mandatory in 16 states within the United States (Weinstein & Greenspan, 2003). In some of these states and prisons, inmates who are identified as HIV positive are segregated from other inmates and for this reason suffer discrimination and are left out of rehabilitative programs (Weinstein & Greenspan, 2003). Many other prisons have chosen to not mandate the testing, but rather allow for it to be done on a voluntary basis by the prisoner (Flanigan, 1995). In states like Rhode Island, HIV testing is not mandatory (Flanigan, 1995). Instead, HIV testing is offered on a voluntary basis with signed consent upon intake into the prison. Those that test positive for HIV are given individual counseling and specific medical care (Flanigan, 1995). For these inmates, they are not segregated from the others and only the medical staff has access to the records of the inmates. Under these pretenses, more than 93% of the inmate volunteer to be tested for HIV (Flanigan, 1995).

As the prison warden, I believe I would lean more towards the same kind of voluntary testing as Rhode Island prisons. I believe that making the testing mandatory and then segregating the inmates would only be harmful to them in multiple ways. It has already proven that segregating the inmates takes away from their ability to participate in rehabilitative services that may be offered to the other inmates (Weinstein & Greenspan, 2003). Rehabilitative services are essential for inmates throughout their sentence and beyond to prevent high rates of recidivism. Excluding HIV positive inmates from these services may cause for their recidivism rates to be higher.

Modeling my own prison after those in Rhode Island, I would also offer the HIV positive inmates the same kind of counseling and comprehensive medical care. As technology as proven over the years, being HIV positive is no longer a death sentence and can in fact be treated with the proper medical care and knowledge. Just as a prison treats any other ailment, I believe it is important they also have the ability to treat HIV positive inmates. Counseling is also very important because the inmates may not have known they were HIV positive prior to entering prison. Having staff available to talk through this new diagnosis and what the new normal life for the inmate will look like is important to their rehabilitation. Scripture says: “Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm (Proverbs 13:20, ESV).”

I also do not believe that in my own prison I would segregate the HIV positive inmates. As I stated before, being HIV positive is no longer something that is going to be life threatening in all cases. Segregating offenders would be detrimental to their own mental well-being. In doing this, the prisons are inferring that HIV positive inmates are harmful to the remainder of the population. I believe this to be inaccurate and that there are different dangers that are more pressing in prisons such as violent offenders. Segregation due to ailment is indeed a violation of the HIV positive offender’s rights. In my own prison, they HIV positive offender would only be segregated If they so choose to be.

References

Flanigan, T. (1995). HIV testing in prison. The Lancet (British Edition), 345(8946), 390-390. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(95)90378-X

Weinstein, C., & Greenspan, J. (2003). Mandatory HIV testing in prisons. American Journal of Public Health (1971), 93(10), 1617; author reply 1617-1617. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.93.10.1617

2. Mack- As a prison administrator, my recommendations for HIV testing would include mandatory HIV testing during intake and would attempt to implement annual testing while an offender is incarcerated and prior to release. It is necessary to remain proactive with health and safety of inmates and staff in the facility. Inmates that are incarcerated engage in sexual activities and drug related actions that allows transmission of HIV, or other diseases such as hepatitis, sexual transmitted diseases, or tuberculosis. By implementing a screening system, it can provide an overview of inmates’ health and alert the facility of any necessary medical care or treatment. According to our textbook, a Bureau of Justice report act was conducted in 2006 reported only 21 states require testing of inmates for HIV upon admission or during their custody (Gideon & Sung, 2011). That is less than half of all the states conducting testing, which can be alarming. All states should require HIV and other diseases upon entering and release. “In 2006, 1.6% of the male prison population and 2.4% of the female prison population were positive for HIV or AIDS. Despite the belief that prisons are breeding grounds for the spread of HIV, most inmates were infected in the community before their incarceration. Those most likely to contract HIV during incarceration are younger, non-white men serving time for sex crimes” (Gideon & Sung, 2011). HIV prevalence in the correction population is more than five times that of the general population (Valera et al., 2017). Personally, I do not feel a separation of positive HIV inmates and non-positive are necessary. There is no separation in society and can lead to more criminal activity or mental health issues from the separation. It is a violation of their civil rights and possibly violate HIPPA laws. Other inmates could figure out why certain inmates are segregated and leads to bullying, fights, or violence. A failure of HIV treatment occurs at the transition of care from the correctional facility back to the community. A study found only 5.4% of inmates filled their antiretroviral prescriptions within 10 days of release, 17.7% within 30 days, and 30% within 60 days (Rich and Wakeman, 2011). The lack of adherence following the transition back to society has been demonstrated with the poor virological and immunological outcomes after being released from prison. “Therefore, everyone of you who judges is without excuse. For when you judge another, you condemn yourself, since you, the judge, do the same things. We know that God’s judgement on those who do such things id based on the truth. Do you really think anyone of you who judges those who do such things yet do the same, that you will escape God’s judgement? Or do you despise the riches of his kindness, restraint, and patience, not recognizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?” (Christian Standard Bible, 2017, Romans 2:1-4). This verse reminds us that we are not to judge one another, as we sin ourselves, in different ways. We cannot treat our neighbors differently because they sin differently than ourselves. Inmates who are positive for diseases or illness should not get separate treatment and judgement because of choices they have made. We are to love one another as God loves us, forgive our sins, and trust in him for guidance to turn away from a sinful life.

Reference:

Christian Standard Bible. (2017). Holman Publishers. Nashville, TN.

Gideon, L., & Sung, H. E. (2011). Rethinking corrections: Rehabilitation, reentry, and reintegration (3rd ed.) Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. IBSN: 9781412970198.

Rich, J., & Wakeman, S. (2011). HIV treatment in U.S. Prisons. Retrieved from https:// www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2953806/ Valera, P., Chang, Y., & Lian, Z. (2017). HIV risk inside US prisons: A systematic review of risk reduction interventions conducted in U.S. prisons.