Year in review: Michigan’s top HIV stories of 2009

From terrorism to discrimination to privacy issues, HIV-related issues made headlines in Michigan in 2009.

1. HIV-as-terrorism case in Macomb County

Perhaps the most watched, and outrageous, HIV related story of 2009 is the situation facing Daniel Allen, a 44-year-old Clinton Township resident who has been charged by Macomb County prosecutors under state terrorism laws. The story starts in October, when Allen allegedly bit his neighbor, Winfred Fernandis Jr., during a neighborhood scuffle. Police say the bite went through Fernandis’ lip, requiring stitches. Originally, Allen was charged with assault and assault with intent to maim. But 10 days later Allen admitted during an interview with Fox 2 in Detroit that he was HIV-positive, which prompted prosecutors to added the unprecedented terrorism charge of “possession or use of harmful device.”

The case has been widely condemned. Lawmakers and activists have questioned the charges, and advocacy groups such as Michigan Positive Action Coalition and Change.org have orchestrated protests and petition drives directed at Macomb County Prosecutor Eric Smith, the man who made the decision to bring the additional charge.

The criminal case is just beginning in the Macomb County courts. The next scheduled hearing is on Jan. 21.

2. Lack of state policy puts those exposed to HIV at greater risk

An investigation by Michigan Messenger revealed in December that the state’s failure to have a written policy regarding access to a drug cocktail called nonoccupational post exposure prophylaxis (nPEP) had created a mish-mash of care protocols across the state that could compromise the care of a person exposed to HIV. The protocol is the use of anti-retroviral medications administered within 72-hours of a likely exposure to HIV — through unprotected sex or sharing needles during drug use — and has been shown to be very effective in preventing HIV infection.

The Michigan Department of Community Health however had not issued guidelines governing the use of nPEP and that has led to a variety of responses for patients seeking access to the treatment.

After Michigan Messenger’s story came out, a state health official promised a policy would be in place “early” in 2010.

3. Michigan Department of Civil Rights: State’s ban on HIV-positive inmates working in prison food service violates law

In another investigation into state policies and HIV-positive residents, Michigan Messenger uncovered a Michigan Department of Corrections policy which barred prisoners infected with the virus from working in food service in the prison. Those jobs are considered the best jobs in the prison.

In April, a Michigan Department of Corrections spokesman said the policy was in place to prevent the disease from spreading:

“A prison holds about 1,000, 1,200 people and as those 1,000 prisoners go through for breakfast, lunch and dinner, prisoners are scooping that food onto their trays,” said MDOC spokesman Russ Marlan. “So if a prisoner was HIV-positive and sneezed onto a food item and then a prisoner ate that food item and that prisoner had a lesion in their mouth they could contract the disease.”

That statement prompted an investigation by the Michigan Department of Civil Rights. In September, the MDCR announced the policy was legal, after officials changed the justification for it from concerns about spreading the virus to concerns about safety in the prison. But prison officials decided that justification was not appropriate either and began the process to change the policy and allow HIV-positive prisoners to work in food service.

4. Release of Lansing sex sting police reports raises concerns about disclosure of HIV status

Lansing officials found themselves at the center of storm this summer after Lansing City Attorney Brigham Smith, responding to a Freedom of Information Act request, released the HIV-positive status of a man arrested in a controversial sex-sting operation in a city park.

The man, whose identity the Michigan Messenger has not released because of privacy concerns, was arrested on May 22. Police say the man exposed himself to an undercover officer, and allegedly lied about his HIV-status. But when officers arrested him at a nearby apartment complex, a search of his vehicle uncovered his prescription medications and he admitted to being HIV-positive. Officers noted the information in the police report about the arrest, and when Michigan Messenger and a coalition of groups including City Pulse newspaper, the Lansing Association for Human Rights and the Triangle Foundation, requested the police reports, Smith released the incident report on the man arrested without redacting the man’s HIV-status.

Activists said the release of the man’s HIV-positive status violated a stringent, but untested, state law. Eventually, Lansing Mayor Virgil Bernero asked Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox to review the release to find if it violated any laws. The AG’s office concluded in August that no laws had been broken.

The controversy prompted the City Council to demand a policy on Freedom of Information Act requests from the city attorney’s office that would help prevent such lapses in the future.

5. Michigan’s HIV disclosure law: Overly broad and open to abuse

In May, Michigan Messenger released the results of an investigation into a state law which requires HIV-positive individuals to disclose their HIV status before engaging in sexual penetration “however slight.” Those guilty of violating the law could face felony charges and prison time.

Critics of the law said it was broad, and open to abuse. As an example, Michigan Messenger told the story of Bay City resident Michael Holder who spent eight years in the custody of the Michigan Department of Corrections after an allegedly racially biased jury found him guilty of having sex with his girlfriend. Holder is black, and his girlfriend was white.

Since May, some lawmakers have indicated an interest in changing the felony disclosure law.