HIV-positive man sentenced 35 years for spitting at officer - Page 3

Sergeant Stinger1 · 05-16-08, 01:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FallingPianos

that is ****ed up.

you cant transmit HIV by spitting on someone.

I hope he appeals the ruling.

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Thats been debated here and there is NO evidence to prove that people cannot get aids from saliva. Actually it was about getting aids from kissing. Of course thats if he spit into his mouth or on his skin, not on his clothes!

MC.no.spin · 05-16-08, 01:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kandahar

Perhaps. Or perhaps he was just trying to scare the cop and knew fully well he couldn't give him HIV.

Either way, saliva isn't a "deadly weapon." Therefore it's ludicrous to charge him with assault with a deadly weapon, or attempted murder.

He has shown a pattern of conduct with doing this to another officer and other prison inmates. This is not an isolated case.

I also think it's a bit overzealous to say it's a sure thing one couldn't get AIDS by having a victim spit in one's eye and mouth.

FallingPianos · 05-16-08, 01:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sergeant Stinger1

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Thats been debated here and there is NO evidence to prove that people cannot get aids from saliva. Actually it was about getting aids from kissing. Of course thats if he spit into his mouth or on his skin, not on his clothes!

cant prove a negative, but there is only one documented case of someone getting HIV from open mouthed kissing, and one or both of the people involved had a nasty gum infection.

Kandahar · 05-16-08, 01:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MC.no.spin

He has shown a pattern of conduct with doing this to another officer and other prison inmates. This is not an isolated case.

But that doesn't mean he was trying to give them HIV. In fact, since he's done it before he probably knows fully well that they can't get HIV from it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MC.no.spin

I also think it's a bit overzealous to say it's a sure thing one couldn't get AIDS by having a victim spit in one's eye and mouth.

That's not how HIV is transmitted.

MC.no.spin · 05-16-08, 01:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kandahar

But that doesn't mean he was trying to give them HIV. In fact, since he's done it before he probably knows fully well that they can't get HIV from it.

He told the officer he had AIDS as soon as he spit on him.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kandahar

That's not how HIV is transmitted.

These are the facts on the matter:

Quote:

This Month's HIV/AIDS Facts

These facts contain commonly accepted public health information about the prevention and transmission of HIV and AIDS. If this is not the information that you are seeking, please use the Back button on your browser to visit another section of our site. Thank you.

Question: Can I get AIDS from someone’s saliva? Can I get AIDS from open-mouth kissing?

Basic Answer: AIDS (a result of HIV infection) is caused by a virus (HIV). There are no known cases of saliva by itself spreading HIV (the virus that causes AIDS). However, because there could be a risk of blood contact during prolonged open-mouth kissing, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends against doing this with a partner who has HIV.

Detailed Answer: AIDS (a result of HIV infection) is caused by a virus (HIV). There are no known cases of saliva by itself spreading HIV (the virus that causes AIDS). The possibility that saliva can spread HIV is considered only theoretical because --

* Saliva contains proteins that reduce the ability of HIV to infect cells.
* Researchers very rarely are able to isolate HIV in saliva.
* There are only small amounts of HIV in the saliva of people with HIV, even in the saliva of people with bleeding gums or sores in the mouth. However, there have been extremely rare cases of transmission by severe human bites, in which the HIV-positive person’s saliva contained visible blood.

Prolonged open-mouth kissing could damage the mouth or lips. This may allow HIV to spread from a person with HIV to a partner through cuts, sores or mucus membranes in the mouth. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends against open-mouth kissing with a partner who has HIV because there could be a risk of blood contact. In 1997, the CDC reported a case of HIV transmission likely caused by open-mouth kissing between a man with HIV and his woman partner. After much study, researchers concluded that blood in the man’s saliva most likely infected the mucus membranes in the woman’s mouth. Both had gum disease that caused the gums to bleed easily, and the couple had consistently used condoms. The CDC emphasized that the far more common ways of getting HIV are through injection drug use and sex, and that there are no reported cases of HIV transmission from saliva only.

SOURCES:

* Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "HIV and Its Transmission." January 2001.
* Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. MMWR, 1997; vol. 46, no. 27. "Transmission of HIV Possibly Associated with Exposure of Mucus Membrane to Contaminated Blood."
* Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National AIDS Hotline Training Bulletin, May 25, 1994; no. 101.
* U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Surgeon General’s Report to the American Public on HIV Infection and AIDS. June 1993.
* DeVita, V., Jr., et al., eds. AIDS: Etiology, Diagnosis, Treatment and Prevention, 4th ed. 1997.

HIV-positive man sentenced 35 years for spitting at officer | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle

Kandahar · 05-16-08, 01:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MC.no.spin

He told the officer he had AIDS as soon as he spit on him.

Possibly to scare him. And even if he did it with the intent to give him HIV, saliva still is not a deadly weapon.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MC.no.spin

These are the facts on the matter:

But that pretty much backs up what I'm saying. It even says "there are no known cases of saliva by itself spreading HIV." And there's only one known case of it even spreading through open-mouth kissing.

MC.no.spin · 05-16-08, 03:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kandahar

Possibly to scare him. And even if he did it with the intent to give him HIV, saliva still is not a deadly weapon.

But that pretty much backs up what I'm saying. It even says "there are no known cases of saliva by itself spreading HIV." And there's only one known case of it even spreading through open-mouth kissing.

The fact they don't recommend french kissing with someone who has AIDS, and that in theory one could acquire the disease through saliva, is enough to make what he did criminal. I do agree he got a raw deal in court, though. However, he does sound like a crazy mother ****er who is best put behind bars.

chevydriver1123 · 05-16-08, 06:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MC.no.spin

Incidentally, if a person with AIDS has sex with another person without notifying them of the disease, do they get 35 years in prison, too?

To my understanding I believe that is a felony.

Zyphlin · 05-16-08, 11:00 AM

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Originally Posted by RightinNYC

If he believed he could, he was trying to kill the cop. That's attempted murder however you look at it.

Bingo

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kandahar

This is absurd. As others have mentioned, it is IMPOSSIBLE to get HIV from someone's saliva. You'd have to swallow gallons upon gallons of their spit.

If it could be shown that he believed he could potentially give him AIDS through spitting on him, yes that is DEFINITLY attempted murder.

Saying its not because its not possible is akin to saying that someone wanting to kill someone and so shoots the person, who happens to be wearing a bullet proof vest, should not be tried on attempted murder because it wouldn't have been possible for him to actually kill him.

Or like saying someone planted a homemade bomb at someones house and detonated it, hoping ot kill him, only for the person to be out of town for the month. I guess that person shouldn't be tried for attempted murder because, despite the intent to do it and the action to match the intent, it would've been impossible for him to *actually* murder someone that's not there.

reaganburch · 05-16-08, 11:03 AM

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Originally Posted by Zyphlin

If it could be shown that he believed he could potentially give him AIDS through spitting on him, yes that is DEFINITLY attempted murder.

Saying its not because its not possible is akin to saying that someone wanting to kill someone and so shoots the person, who happens to be wearing a bullet proof vest, should not be tried on attempted murder because it wouldn't have been possible for him to actually kill him.

Or like saying someone planted a homemade bomb at someones house and detonated it, hoping ot kill him, only for the person to be out of town for the month. I guess that person shouldn't be tried for attempted murder because, despite the intent to do it and the action to match the intent, it would've been impossible for him to *actually* murder someone that's not there.

That's some good stuff there, Zyphlin....

It's the intent that matters.