HIV-positive man sentenced 35 years for spitting at officer

An HIV-positive man convicted of spitting into the eye and mouth of a Dallas police officer has been sentenced to 35 years in prison.

Arrested for public intoxication, incarcerating this guy will likely cost taxpayers upwards of $1000000. Seems like a good use of my tax money............................NOT!

The ignorance of the jury in this case is absolutely sickening. I spent 7 months teaching health and sex education to kids in Africa, and I am embarrassed that the same idiotic views persist here.

Per the CENTER FOR DISEASE CONTROL, unless there is blood mixed with the saliva, there are no reasons to believe HIV can be transmitted that way.

Check it out:
http://hivinsite.ucsf.edu/insite?page=ask-01-06-05

Saliva alone will not cause the police officer to contract the disease, and the defendant probably wasn't trying to spread the disease. Geeze, people are so misinformed. I thought everyone was educated in this stuff. Did they not go to school?

It is sad that this man has been sentenced to 35 years, because of the twisted interpretation of the law. This man is facing a judge and jury who were judging him by the stigma of HIV not by his actions.

Isn't HIV suppposed to be contracted through blood or sexual contact. People with HIV will likely viewed as the same people with the rage virus in 28days later.

I can't believe you people actually have the audacity to defend this piece of shit. He's HIV positive, he spit on a police officer for arresting him for breaking the law. 35 years isn't enough, I hope he dies in jail for even attempting to do it. How many of you were there to check the man to see if he had any open sores in his mouth? Seriously, you anarchist anti-ANY form of authority people are nothing more than a pure un-adulterated cancer on society. Those of us who ARE law abiding citizens appreciate the police getting the trash off the streets so we can enjoy the city without some obnoxious drunk & disorderly dipshit causing a scene.

I'm fairly sure NONE of us were there to see if the HIV positive man had sores in his mouth. If he had none, this ruling is an absolute outrage.

Liberal extinction, your thoughtless ignorant comments are embarrassing. I am a law-abiding citizen, I'm all for cops getting disorderly people off the street. That's not the issue here.

Naomi Campbell just spit at an officer in London, she isn't serving 35 years is she? The reality is that we don't know enough about his medical state to make a judgment.

Liberal, liberal, liberal. What am I gonna do with you. Again, it's how you say it. I agree with you to some degree. The punishment is quite harsh and will probably be appealed to something lower, but the man did spit on the cop, knowing that he was hiv positive. Who knows if the cop nicked himself badly, shaving that morning, or just burst a huge pimple- lord knows I'm always pickin at my face.

The point is, we don't know the exact details of the case, but excreting your bodily fluids on to me is an offense in itself. As an infected person he should bear the responsibility not to increase the spread of the disease, and spitting, no matter how low the risk, is a dangerous offense that merits punishment. 35 years is just a bit excessive.

What a load.

This is just one more example of the discrimination that occurs against HIV positive people all the time... Why the f*ck to so many people hate them so much?

So if I have TB and cough at an officer can I be put in jail too? This should not have taken place in America, this is the type of headline that should be seen in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Wow, I wonder if he did that on purpose of just because he was pissed off. -ponders-

Is it really excessive? Just how long do you suppose this police officer will be getting HIV/ AIDS tests right now to be sure? Just how do you think it may affect this mans life at home with his wife? How would you feel if you had a few YEARS worth of a dormancy period that a currently incurable disease COULD suddenly show up and deliver the police officer a death sentence? Why in God's name would you send a message that an HIV positive person can spit on someone and get off with a slap on the wrist b/c THIS time he didn't infect someone. Like it or not, this police officers life has taken a drastic change from the life he knew before this incident happened. Who REALLY is the victim here? The piece of shit that spit on him or the police officer facing something that could mean the end of his life as he knows it?

I know there are good people and bad people alike that are infected with HIV/ AIDS, some through no fault of their own due to medical conditions, this isn't blanket condemnation of ANYONE aside from this asshole spitting his HIV cocktail at a cop doing his job.

HIV is an anaerobic virus meaning that it cannot survive outside of the body for very long. According to the CDC there has never been a known case of someone contracting HIV from saliva.

What is present in the Saliva are antibodies, not viral particles, the saliva is too acidic for the HIV virus. If the virus was mixed with blood, and I mean more blood than saliva, the man would have been spitting up blood.

I agree with the person who made the statement that the judgment was based on the Stigma and no on the facts of HIV.

HIV is very difficult to get, you don't get it from casual contact, you have to do some serious penetration for transmission to occur, either vaginally, rectally, or through the sharing of needles.

HIV is not transmitted through the eyes or mouth unless there is a lot of blood and not very much air.

Breast Milk also transmits HIV but again the baby can get the HIV from the mother for two reasons, one because the baby doesn't have a developed immune system yet and second because when that baby is sucking on that nipple there is practically no air and the mucous membranes of the babies mouth are so thin that the sucking can create micro fissures in the babies mouth and the HIV from the Breast Milk can get into the babies blood stream.

The sentence is outrageous and the anyone who would support such a sentence is ignorant and hateful.

Yes. I do think it's excessive. The chances of the officer contracting the disease from just the saliva alone is very low. There are degrees of malicious intent. He was probably so angry, and restrained that his only viable physical response was to spit. Again, I don't know all the facts, there are several factors to consider. I just choose not to be so extreme on any side of the matter.

LIBERAL EXTINCTION YOU ARE A FEAR MONGER!!! YOU ARE BORDERING ON HYSTERICAL!

(SLAP across the face - calm yourself down)

I have had HIV for over 30 years and I can tell you with all sincerity that it is not a Death Sentence as you claim. That is the hype of the media and it is what is drilled into our collective unconscious about African AIDS.

A Swiss study just recently proved that HIV cannot be transmitted by people with undetectable viral loads.

Out of the 30 years I have been positive I have been to death's doorstep and back. But I am still here alive and kicking back against the ignorance and fear mongering fools in the world.

My partner and I have had a relationship for 7 years and we kissed very passionately and deeply sharing our saliva. He is not HIV positive and has been tested several times. I can tell you that if as deeply as we shared our salivas and he didn't get HIV, then I can assure you that that police officer is not going to get HIV and all the suffering he goes through is out of pure ignorance.

If the man was seriously trying to infect another person, I dont really think he'd spit in order to do it. Its just not a logical or efficient way to do it..unless of course he doesnt know ANYTHING about HIV/AIDS.
And as for the cop...anywhere from 6 months to 10 years if not more before any antibodies would show up. I cant imagine he isnt already on medication but if he actually contracts it then I'd be pretty surprised.
Either way...JUST PLAIN NASTY!

Well, I not only like but support the message a sentence like this sends. It's about time people start having to answer for their stupidity and wreckless behavior when it's endangering the lives of others. Viruses are continually evolving, no one and I mean no one can predict when something like this COULD become transmittable via saliva or even worse, airborne. This sentence sends a CLEAR message to anyone else that might consider endangering the lives of others as a known carrier of a deadly disease. I still hope the guy rots in prison.

Such a sentence shouldn't have been made untill the officer was determined positive or negative in catching the HIV. The chances are slim, very slim but that doesnt mean it wont happen. They aren't saying that the man wasn't wrong for spitting on the officer, but how fare would it be if the officer did not contact the disease and the man now has to spend all that time in jail...just for spitting. We have no idea why he spit on the officer...i doubt he woke up that morning and was like hey i want to spit on an officer...things happen, i think the determinant of the sentence should have been wether of not the officer got contact of the disease....im not saying the man was right to spit on the officer...and im not saying he should just get a slap on his wrist for doing it...i'm saying the punishment doesnt fit the crime unless the crime is determined murder

That 35 year sentence has become the man's death sentence for sure.

He will not likely get the treatments he could have gotten out of prison. He will be neglected and probably die from that neglect.

You can't get HIV by spit. That is a whole bunch of bullsh*t. That is why we have sexual education because people like this will lock all HIV positive people up for kissing, spitting, or drooling. This is outrageous and stupid.

Are you serious Liberal Extinction? Airborne AIDS?
Viruses don't mutate like in Outbreak or something, that only happens in movies.

This sort of sentence would only be merited if you could prove beyond any reasonable doubt that he spat in the officers face with the intention of infecting him with the virus. Do you know how many people spit in the faces of cops every day? Or even if he knew that he was HIV positive? There are a lot of people who don't know they have the virus. Did the officer even contract the virus? There are so many questions left to be answered.

In general, its ridiculous to me, his spit is a deadly weapon? What is he, a cobra or something?

It must be great to be on the side that pays you all day to look for a reason to F with somebody.

you know, not everyone who is defending this guy is an anarchist. I think none of us were there, so how can we judge. For all we know the cop was harrasing the drunk guy, or the drunk guy was just talking too loudly. The main point here is that 35 years for spitting on someone, basically, is ridiculous. And unless the cop now has HIV I don't see the point in sentencing the guy with murder. He was drunk and spit on someone, I doubt he was even thinking about the fact that it could spread HIV.

I think we seriously need to reassess our judgement that HIV is a lethal weapon in the way a gun is. There was a time when a HIV diagnosis dramatically shortened life expectancy but the fact is that now people with HIV have options for leading healthy normal lives.

I also think this case needs to head to a federal court for a ruling and that Texas needs a grand spanking for allowing their backwoods prejudices into the legal system.

Are we to assume the defense didn't call a bunch of doctors/biologists/health educators to the stand to explain the ridiculousness of this? Or that the jury just chose to ignore all that? And how do you show intent, anyway...

Oh wait, this was in Texas? Never mind.

Exactley! When will they punish police officers for obessive gun fire. Like shooting @ a man a total of fifity times and then shooting him in the back when it's obvious he's dead! I wonder has anyone did a study on "certain" jobs cerial killers take: Cops, military etc.... I hope that man takes his case to the supreme court.

Hey Folk.

Hats off to all of you for being such active contributors. Plenty of comments are being flagged as abuse, on this story and the likes of it. Whist we understand everyone is passionate about their views, it’s important that we keep the chatter and thread on discussion, not personal attacks or those that may cause upset. Comments which violate our standards will be removed.

Keep on Keeping // roE

considering the fact that HIV cannot be spread through saliva unless there were open sores in the man's mouth (which none seem to have been found), shouldn't something be done about the fact that this man is going to jail for 35 YEARS for basically harmlessly spitting on an officer?

What an unbelievable story. Probably the same folks convicted him who believe a god created the Earth in 7 days and evolution is a myth.

Sickinjersey, did you know you bear an uncanny resemblance to Harvey Keitel? Maybe you should change your handle.

I worked at the CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION for years and I can tell you without a doubt this is cruel and unusual punishment because the chance of contraction by the officer was low, and therefore without a doubt I also know this is pure legal and local political posturing and bullying by the local police force. This guy needs a legal fund. ACLU, where are ya'?

"just because it is written, doesn't make it so."

Hey Jubal, good for you that can swap spit with someone and live to brag about it. It's 2 completely different things though, you and your partner made a conscious decision to take that risk. This police officer was upholding his sworn duty to protect the public, he has the right to do his job without some diseased criminal spitting on him. I don't wish any ill will on the guy for having HIV, I'm not privvy to how or why he has it. He does have a responsibility to society to behave in a responsible manner in light of his condition though. Just because the guy is being restrained against his drunken will does NOT give him the right to spit on the cop.

I also notice that everyone keeps saying the chance of contraction of the diease is "LOW", not completely non-existent. If I'm piss poor aim and fire a shot from a handgun at you with little or no chance of hitting you am I less guilty of attempted murder? If I fire a shot at you from a gun that I didn't know was loaded am I less guilty then due to my ignorance of the bullet in the chamber?

So what happens when someone who doesn't know yet that they have HIV spits on someone? Will they go to jail practically for the rest of their life, too?

Why all the shout downs? Hate the game, not the player…all views need to heard in America.

Bottom line, the INTENT of the spitter was to cause harm, period. Why else would he spit. The INTENT carries a 35 yr sentence.