Advocates of civil and gay rights have responded with anger with the charging of a Boise man with knowingly spreading the AIDS-related virus, saying the case is unconstitutional.
Kerry Stephen Thomas, 25, a former Boise State University basketball player, is in Ada County jail on $1 million bond, charged with knowingly spreading the HIV virus, the precursor to AIDS.The charge carries a possible 15-year prison term and a $5,000 fine. A preliminary hearing is set for May 11.
But defenders of the 1988 Idaho law, which allows disclosure of AIDS tests results and prosecution based on those findings, say that the statute is necessary to protect public health.
As Idaho grapples with its second AIDS-exposure case in nine months, a national debate has been sparked on what could be a precedent-setting trial.
"It's an invasion of privacy and cruel and unusual punishment to impose penalties on someone because they are sick," said Judith Levin, New York litigation coordinator for the American Civil Liberties Union's national AIDS project.
David Barr, an AIDS advocacy attorney, said publicity surrounding Thomas' case will thwart testing and increase the number of AIDS cases.