Report says HIV inmate segregation in two U.S. statesWhy Drug Addicts Are Getting Sterilized Cash

Alabama and South Carolina are subjecting HIV-positive prisoners to "cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment" by segregating them in violation of international law, two leading U.S. rights groups said on Wednesday. Human Rights Watch and the American Civil Liberties Union National Prison Project said in a report the two southern states were the last in the United States to combine mandatory HIV testing with immediate isolation and segregation for those inmates who tested positive. They called for an immediate end to the policy. The 45-page report, "Sentenced to Stigma: Segregation of HIV-Positive Prisoners in Alabama and South Carolina," said prisoners in the HIV units were forced to wear armbands or other indicators of their HIV status and to eat and even worship separately. They were denied equal participation in prison jobs, programs, and re-entry opportunities that facilitate their transition back into society. "The segregation and discrimination against HIV-positive prisoners continues to this day in Alabama and South Carolina, and constitutes cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment in violation of international law," the report said. Another southern state, Mississippi, had also until recently applied the same segregation policy, but after reviewing the findings of the report before its publication last month ended the practice, HRW and the ACLU National Prison Project said. Why Drug Addicts Are Getting Sterilized for Cash