Nevada Prisons Illegally Segregating HIV-Positive Inmates, Justice Department Says
Inmates with HIV are being denied access to work programs that could shorten their sentences, and lawyers from the U.S. Justice Department say they may sue the state under the Americans with Disabilities Act if the situation isn't rectified.
The Associated Press:
Justice Department: Nevada Discriminates Against HIV Inmates
Nevada’s prisons are discriminating against inmates with HIV under illegal segregation policies that deny them access to work programs where other prisoners earn credits to reduce the length of their sentences, the U.S. Justice Department has concluded. Justice Department lawyers warned Nevada’s attorney general this week they may sue the state under the Americans with Disabilities Act if it doesn’t change the policies based largely on unfounded fears about the transmission of HIV. (Sonner, 6/21)
In other news, a judge orders a Texas prison to provide clean drinking water to its inmates —
Houston Chronicle:
Federal Judge: State Must Provide Water Without Arsenic To Inmates
In a ruling highly critical of how Texas prisons treat inmates, a federal judge in Houston ordered a Navasota facility to find an immediate alternative to arsenic-laden drinking water that "violates contemporary standards of decency." (Banks, 6/21)
