should Man gets prison for knowingly exposing women to HIV

from cnn

LAWRENCE, Kansas (AP) -- An HIV-positive man accused of knowingly exposing three women to the virus has been sentenced to nearly three years in prison.

Robert Richardson II, 30, apologized at his sentencing Wednesday, but he argued that while his behavior was unethical, it wasn't criminal.

Richardson was found guilty last month of four counts of HIV exposure involving three women, and he was found not guilty of exposing a fourth woman.

Jurors said they were appalled by how he deceived the women by telling them his health problems were from a heart condition. Richardson said he didn't lie, and that he did have a "HAART" condition -- short for Highly Active Anti-Retroviral Therapy, the name he used for his HIV-treatment drug regimen.

Defense attorneys said that Richardson had been taking drugs to lower the amount of the virus in his blood and that he believed it was physically impossible for the women to get the virus.

His attorney, Thomas Johnson, argued for probation, claiming the women were not "seriously injured" because all had tested negative for HIV. He also said they engaged in "reckless sex."

The "injury isn't just physical" prosecutor Amy McGowan said.

Richardson was sentenced to 32 months in prison. Other cases are pending against him in Missouri and Kansas.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by karyn

from cnn

LAWRENCE, Kansas (AP) -- An HIV-positive man accused of knowingly exposing three women to the virus has been sentenced to nearly three years in prison.

Robert Richardson II, 30, apologized at his sentencing Wednesday, but he argued that while his behavior was unethical, it wasn't criminal.

Richardson was found guilty last month of four counts of HIV exposure involving three women, and he was found not guilty of exposing a fourth woman.

Jurors said they were appalled by how he deceived the women by telling them his health problems were from a heart condition. Richardson said he didn't lie, and that he did have a "HAART" condition -- short for Highly Active Anti-Retroviral Therapy, the name he used for his HIV-treatment drug regimen.

Defense attorneys said that Richardson had been taking drugs to lower the amount of the virus in his blood and that he believed it was physically impossible for the women to get the virus.

His attorney, Thomas Johnson, argued for probation, claiming the women were not "seriously injured" because all had tested negative for HIV. He also said they engaged in "reckless sex."

The "injury isn't just physical" prosecutor Amy McGowan said.

Richardson was sentenced to 32 months in prison. Other cases are pending against him in Missouri and Kansas.

---

i don't have the full facts, to know if condoms were used... because "reckless sex" can be defined in many ways in a legal mind... but this man did not FULLY explain his situation... what he did was wrong on a criminal level... by KNOWINGLY exposing these woman... i consider that attempted murder... if they were exposed, i consider that murder... because effectively, he PURPOSEDLY KNOWINGLY exposed these woman to their death sentence...

it's like this guy's defense is like "well, she was naked, your honor... on her back on a mattress... she was asking me to **** her..."

i'm a little sick right now reading this...

he should be charged with attempted murder.

I completely agree for an attempted murder charge. Thank goodness the girls tested negative.

Thats crazy, that guy should be charged for attempted murder. He knew full well that he carried a deadly disease and then goes on to expose most to it.

I remeber watching an episode of law and order svu on this exact same topic. What he was going is basically akin to taking a needle with infected blood an injecting it into someone so yes I believe he should be in prison.

attempted murder, no doubt. i can't even imagine this happening... or rather, i can, because it's something that could really happen to anyone. fuck this i'm going to be a nun.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Sara X

fuck this i'm going to be a nun.

---

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Legally I don't think attempted murder is the correct charge since his intent did not appear to be killing the women. However he did knowingly and actively deceive them in order to expose them to danger. Any thoughts that he shouldn't be in jail go right out the window with this statement.

Quote:

---

Jurors said they were appalled by how he deceived the women by telling them his health problems were from a heart condition. Richardson said he didn't lie, and that he did have a "HAART" condition -- short for Highly Active Anti-Retroviral Therapy, the name he used for his HIV-treatment drug regimen.

---

Once he actively lied to cover his condition it became criminal.

On a moral, as opposed to a legal, viewpoint the guy deserves a lot worse. Lies about any VD you are carrying so you can get laid is a dick move, the fact that this one is potentially fatal escalates it to a whole new level. If he lied about herpes I would hate the guy. This guy I really friggin hate.

But that's just me.

I'm torn. On the one hand, I'm horrified by someone kind of deliberately putting other people at risk.

The article doesn't say whether he practiced safe sex. If he did and everyone is negative, I'm not sure I can see it as that big a deal. I mean, he is an asshole then, but not really an attempted murderer.

If he knew and he had unsafe sex with his partners, then the only reason he shouldn't get more than three years is the burden his treatment would put on the taxpayers.

I think sometimes people who are unlucky in illness feel singled out and unconsciously want to share the suffering.

the guy is a dick, plain and simple. he lied and could have killed some one, several someones really. it was deliberate and dangerous. this is a case where part of me belives that chemical castration might not be too far.

K

If you have a deadly, communicable disease, and you put others at risk of contracting it without their knowledge or consent, you are a tool who should be shot in the face.

shivers....
scary.....
dont know if any of you remember my post a while back about safe sex and how I am the condom nazi. Bunch of people replied saying they were guilty of often times not practicing safe sex. point made.

I don't know, I mean thousands of people die every week because of cancer caused by exposure to products that are made from substances that are well-known to be toxic and dangerous, but are considered to be perfectly acceptible.

I bring this up because I think it's important to take into account just how much our society lacks any sense of social responsibility in it's value system. when putting personal gain above any and all costs is encouraged and promoted as a positive, it seems pretty likely that the average person would consider the enjoyment of sex to be more valuabe than the risks that it entails, even if they are aware of them. I think that it's opften done "innocently" enough, and those questions about harm being inflicted weren't even considered. going back to what Scar said...

really my point is that it seems like "common sense" about some issues, like not to do stupid, fucked up dangerous, pointless things... but obviously it's not, otherwise the multitudes of people that do them wouldn't be.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by inox

If you have a deadly, communicable disease, and you put others at risk of contracting it without their knowledge or consent, you are a tool who should be shot in the face.

---

:yeeaaahh:

I don't always like to wrap it but I get tested regularly. Guys like that ruin it for everyone.

If you know for sure you have it, then you should be forced to reveal it.

To those who say it's not attempted murder, that's like putting poison in someone's breakfast, and not telling them when they start to eat it.

If you know your cum can kill someone, you can't let them be exposed to it, and not tell them. In the poison in the breakfast example, it's premeditated. You know it's deadly, and you decide not to tell them. It would be different if they wandered in your kitchen, and drank some drain cleaner from under the sink, while you were out of the room. It's not like you knew they were going to do that. But you know you are going to have sex. Just like you know that person is going to eat that poisoned breakfast. It's totally premeditated, and you are responsible...

If you have AIDS or the virus that leads to that, and you are aware of it. You should not be fucking. PERIOD.

Manslaughter at least, Capitol Murder at worst.

Un-fucking believable.

Well, you can fuck other HIV+ people...

And you can fuck people who know about it, and are cool with it.

In all reality, anyone who has casual sex with people at clubs, or anyone they have not gotten test results from, is just as risky, since any one of those random people could have it, and not know it...

he should be sentenced to gonorrhea injected into his balls and eyelid herpies

Sounds like attempted murder to me.