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Nevada Ends Segregation of Prisoners With HIV

Nevada's Department of Corrections is changing a series of policies and practices that the U.S. Justice Department says illegally discriminate against prison inmates with HIV by housing them separately and denying access to work assignments that can speed their release.

Nevada's Department of Corrections is changing a series of policies and practices that the U.S. Justice Department says illegally discriminate against prison inmates with HIV by housing them separately and denying access to work assignments that can speed their release.

 

 

The Justice Department concluded last month the state was violating inmates' civil rights under the policies based largely on outdated and unfounded fears about the transmission of the virus that causes AIDS.

 

State Corrections Director James Dzurenda announced late Wednesday that inmates with HIV no longer will be segregated from the general prison population. He also said they will be provided the same opportunities as others to win assignments to work camps where they can earn credits faster to shorten their sentences.

 

Other changes include new protections intended to keep inmates' HIV status confidential, and new training for inmates and prison workers alike about how HIV is transmitted.

 

HIV, the human immunodeficiency virus, causes AIDS. But it cannot be transmitted through ordinary activities such as shaking hands or sharing drinking glasses, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Caroline Cournoyer is GOVERNING's senior web editor.
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