Spit as a deadly weapon
Who knew that spit could be classified a deadly weapon and land you 35 years in prison?
Willie Campbell is an HIV positive man recently convicted of spitting on a Dallas police officer during a 2006 public intoxication arrest. He was sentenced to 35 years in prison and will not be eligible for parole until he’s served half that time. I wonder if the prosecutor, defense attorney or any of the jury ever read this:
Saliva—is NOT considered to be infectious. The only time saliva would pose a risk would be if it had blood present in it. There are no documented cases of HIV transmission through saliva. There is a protein in the mouth that attaches itself to the surface of blood cells and blocks infection by HIV that appears to be present in the mucous membrane in the mouth at a level sufficient enough to reduce the concentration of HIV in saliva to non-infectious levels.
The CDC’s website indicates that there is no known transmission of HIV through contact with saliva, tears or sweat but that info brought a question to my mind. Would the guy have been charged with assault with a deadly weapon for sweating or crying during his arrest?
I’m thinking probably not and that 35 years is cruel and unusual punishment for spitting during a PI arrest. The guy perhaps needs a better lawyer for the appeal process.
It appears that the guy thought he would infect the officer. Since it is his intent which determines the crime, it’s irrelevant under the law whether he actually accomplished his goal. In many states, he could have been charged with attempted murder (again, a crime of intent).
That being said, 35 years in prison is an outrageous sentence given the facts as stated. The taxpayers will end up footing the bill for all of his antiretrovirals, at a cost of thousands of dollars per month for the rest of his life.
Of course, it’s possible taxpayers already were paying for his medication, if he is being treated under a public health program as are most HIV patients.
I suspect the jury figured if he’d try to infect a cop, no one is safe. In a situation such as this, a jury isn’t going to care whether his saliva is infectious, given that his blood is infectious and he has shown a propensity for infecting others.
Sad, sad case.
Surely anybody living with HIV knows the risks of infection through different activities. I’m guessing he knew that spit didn’t spread the virus and he was trying to get a rise out of the cop. A little Fuck You if you will.