Published January, 2012
PJP Proposed Resolution Submitted to the President’s Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS (PACHA) On Ending Federal and State HIV-Specific Criminal Laws, Prosecutions and Civil Commitments (2012)
The Positive Justice Project (PJP) drafted this proposal for a resolution by PACHA that would identify key problems with criminal law approaches to HIV prevention, and principles that should guide any laws or prosecutions that target people with HIV or other STIs going forward. The proposed resolution's recommendations include the federal review of HIV-specific laws, convictions and related penalties; the modernization of laws and practices to reflect current science and knowledge about HIV; and the application of standards of proof and process normally afforded individuals facing charges of a criminal offense against another person.
The resolution, which incorporates both PJP's January 2011 requests to PACHA and key elements of the PJP Concensus Statement on HIV Criminalization in the United States, was completed by Bill McColl of AIDS United and was introduced at PACHA's October 25, 2012 meeting by Catherine Hanssens of the Center for HIV Law and Policy on behalf of the PJP. The resolution currently is under review by PACHA.
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