HIV CRIMINALIZATION IN ARKANSAS
HIV criminalization is the prosecution and imprisonment of people living with HIV for things that are perfectly legal or only minor crimes for people who have not tested positive.
HIV CRIMINALIZATION:
ARE YOU AT RISK?
Most HIV “criminal transmission” or “criminal exposure” laws require people living with HIV to disclose their HIV status to a partner before having any kind of sex, but proving that you disclosed can be tough. Cases often boil down to one person’s word against another’s.
PROTECT YOURSELF
Proof that you disclosed your HIV status prior to sexual contact may be helpful in court (but is no guarantee). You can:
• Save emails or text exchanges showing your disclosure.
• Take partners to your doctor or caseworker’s office and ask them to note your partner’s knowledge of your HIV+ status in your case records.
• Discuss your HIV+ status in the presence of your partner and third parties who can attest to the disclosure.
• Use your cell phone to take a video of your disclosure to your partner.
IF ARRESTED
If you are arrested or are at risk of arrest on an HIV criminalization charge:
• Do NOT talk to police or investigators, including about your HIV+ status, without your lawyer present.
• Do NOT give a statement to the police or investigators no matter what they promise you—it is never to your advantage to give a statement before getting a lawyer.
• Do NOT consent to any medical tests (including blood draws or saliva swabs).
• Do NOT sign anything without first consulting your lawyer.
• DO get advice and find a lawyer by contacting a local HIV legal or service organization.
HIV CRIMINALIZATION IN ARKANSAS:
THE TIME TO MODERNIZE IS NOW
The laws are not based on the science
- Arkansas’ law punishes behavior that poses no or negligible risk of HIV transmission, such as sex with a condom or while on effective treatment.
- The law incorrectly assumes an HIV diagnosis is a “death sentence,” when in reality, it is a
manageable medical condition. A person on effective treatment can have a near-normal life
expectancy.¹
The laws do not promote public health
- There is no evidence that HIV criminal laws promote public health by increasing disclosure, HIV testing, or safer sex. The laws have had zero impact on rates of HIV diagnosis.²
- HIV criminal laws harm marginalized communities that are already disproportionately affected by HIV, including people of color and LGBTQ people.
- By singling out a single disease, Arkansas’ law stigmatizes people living with HIV, which undercuts an effective response to the epidemic.
HIV criminal laws are costly
- Arkansas spends about 372 million dollars a year on prisons, at a cost of over $20,000 an inmate. The money spent to incarcerate people under HIV criminal laws would be better spent on HIV prevention efforts and supporting the over 5,000 Arkansans living with HIV.³
The laws are unfair and stigmatizing
- In Arkansas, a person living with HIV can go to prison for up to 30 years for not disclosing their status before engaging in consensual sex, even when they did not intend to harm anyone, there was no risk of harm, and no harm resulted. This is a more severe penalty than the maximum for negligent homicide or first-degree stalking.
- In Arkansas, having a felony on your record means restrictions on voting rights, your ability to serve as a juror or hold public office, and access to benefits like public housing.4
- Under Arkansas law, people living with HIV prosecuted by this law may also be required to register as sex offenders.5
Leading public health and legal experts believe the laws need to change
- HIV criminal laws like those in Arkansas are opposed by public health and criminal justice experts, such as the National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors (NASTAD) and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL).
- The U.S. Department of Justice has recommended that states like Arkansas reexamine their HIV criminal laws to better align with current evidence and “consider whether the laws are the best vehicle to achieve their intended purpose.”6
- Hasina Samji, et al., Closing the Gap: Increases in Life Expectancy Among Treated Individuals in the United States and Canada, 8 PLoS One 1 (2013).
- Patricia Sweeney & Simone Gray, Association of HIV diagnosis rates and laws criminalizing HIV exposure in the United States, 31 AIDS 1483 (2017).
- Vera Institute of Justice, The Price of Prisons (2017), available at https://www.vera.org/publications/price-of-prisons-2015-state-spending-trends; AIDSVu, Arkansas Highlights (2014), available at https://aidsvu.org/state/arkansas/
- Council of State Governments, National Inventory of Collateral Consequences of Convictions (last visited October 10, 2017), available at https://niccc.csgjusticecenter.org/map/
- ARK. CODE ANN. § 12-12-903(13)(A)(i)(p) (2017)
- Department of Justice, Best Practices Guide to Reform HIV-Specific Criminal Laws to Align with Scientifically Supported Factors (2014), available at https://www.hiv.gov/sites/default/files/doj-hiv-criminal-law-best-practices-guide.pdf
OUR LATEST NEWS AND STORIES
HIV Criminalization Awareness Day
Currently, Arkansas law states that exposing another person to HIV is a Class A felony. A person living with HIV (PLHIV), who knows their status, could be convicted and sentenced to a maximum of 30 years for not telling a sexual partner they have HIV prior to engaging in any form of sexual contact. Neither […]