ENFORCEMENT OF HIV CRIMINALIZATION IN MISSISSPPI

Macklin Enforcement of HIV Criminalization in Mississippi | 1 OVERVIEW The Williams Institute analyzed data from the state of Mississippi about individuals arrested for an allegation of an HIV-related offense under Section 92-27-14 of the Mississippi Criminal Code. [...] State, the Court of Appeals of Mississippi affirmed the knowing exposure conviction of the defendant despite the defendant’s testimony that his sexual partner was aware of his HIV status and consented to sex.16 The defendant’s testimony was weighed against that of the complainant, who claimed the defendant did not disclose his HIV-positive status. [...] State, the defendant was charged with and convicted of violating an order by the Department of Health.27 The order required that the individual involved 1) disclose his HIV status to sexual partners and 2) abstain from activities that would mix his blood with the blood of another person.28 The individual in the case was convicted and sentenced to five years in prison for violating this order after. [...] The arrest data come from the state’s criminal history database and offer a partial picture of HIV- related criminal enforcement in the state.79 NUMBER AND FREQUENCY OF HIV-RELATED INCIDENTS In total, we observed 52 allegations of an HIV-related offense across 43 unique individuals and 47 separate arrest incidents in the Mississippi data.80 Only a handful of the arrests indicated whether the perso. [...] Enforcement of HIV Criminalization in Mississippi | 17 CONCLUSION This report documents the legal and legislative history of HIV criminalization in Mississippi and analyzes key trends in the enforcement of the state’s HIV-related criminal laws.