Published July, 2017

Letter to the Ohio Criminal Justice Recodification Committee Regarding Proposed Revisions to the HIV Transmission/Exposure Statute (2016)

This letter to the General Assembly of the State of Ohio Criminal Justice Recodification Committee was sent on October 21, 2016. It was authored by Ohio-based organizations and health care professionals to provide comment on the proposed revision to Ohio’s HIV transmission/exposure statute. While HIV-specific provisions were removed from some crimes, other provisions retained language at odds with modern science regarding the routes, risks and realities of HIV transmission, leveling severe felony penalties against PLWH without evidence of intent to do harm or transmission of HIV. The letter includes proposed changes to the draft statute to better reflect current, well-established scientific and medical evidence, and essential criminal law principles.