HIV Is Not a Murder Weapon: Racism and the Criminalization of AIDS

"HIV has [had] a negative effect on my life and my family. I never want anyone to have to go through this type of pain," Michael Johnson wrote in a letter to Truthout from his prison cell in rural Missouri.

In the 1980s, an HIV diagnosis amounted to a death sentence. Now, with access to the right medical care, someone with HIV can live as long as anyone else. So when Johnson comments on the negative effects of the disease, he's mostly talking about the stigma and laws that criminalize people who are HIV-positive.

At 23 years old, in July 2015, Johnson received a sentence of 30 and a half years in prison for allegedly transmitting and "exposing" others to HIV. He's now confined a thousand miles away from his family in Florida. That family includes his son, Michael Jr., who turns 4 in October, and whom he has not seen since he was first jailed in 2013.

Crown applies to intervene in HIV criminalization case

Ontario’s attorney general has applied to intervene in a Supreme Court of Canada decision that activists say could make it easier for courts to convict HIV-positive Canadians who don’t disclose their status to sexual partners. 

In a document submitted on Sept 9, the attorney general’s office noted there was “uncertainty and unfairness” in current laws.  

It is calling for a consent-based framework rather than the current legal approach, which has been applied unevenly and has allowed judges to convict HIV-positive Canadians even when they haven’t passed on the virus. 

“This is a kick in the face for people working on this issue,” says Tim McCaskell, a member of the AIDS Action Now steering committee. “This basically makes disclosure a requirement for any kind of interaction. As we know from Bill Clinton, it’s difficult to know what’s sex and what’s not. If we give someone a peck on the cheek, is it sex?”

McCaskell is frustrated with Ontario Attorney General Chris Bentley, who last year told Xtra he would consult members of the community about creating prosecutorial guidelines to ensure less confusion in the courts.