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05/17/08-05/19/08

HIV-Positive Man Sentenced for Spitting on Cop

An HIV-positive homeless man who spit on a police officer in Dallas was sentenced to 35 years in prison on Wednesday for harassing a public servant with a deadly weapon.

Willie Campbell spit in the mouth and eye of the police officer, before telling him that he is HIV-positive. Because of the deadly weapon finding, Campbell will not be eligible for parole until 17 years into his sentence, according to The New York Times.

Campbell was found unconscious on the street in 2006. He fought with paramedics and police who arrested him for public intoxication. None of the officers Campbell fought contracted the virus.

During the trial, prosecutors said that Campbell has been HIV-positive since 1994. His attorney Russell Henrichs said that Campbell did not resist arrest or spit on the police officer. Campbell's sentence was increased from 25 years because he was previously convicted of attacking two other police officers, biting two inmates, and other offenses. (The Advocate)

Reader Comments

These comments are reproduced as written by visitors to this Web site. They have not been edited for content, grammar, or spelling. The viewpoints appearing here are those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect the opinion or views of advocate.com, The Advocate, or its affiliates.

  • Name: mackdaknife
    Date posted: 2008-05-22 5:00 PM
    Hometown: Montreal

    Comment:

    gay people can be hoeless, I was once....I'm a waiter now in a location where a lot of Americans visit, you people are so stupid that most waiters toss a coin to see who suffer's....if this guy were some pretty white boy, it'll be all over the new's, and it's a bet he's not black, where's your Rev. Sharpie Mouthton ? it's some poor white street dude, who used to be good looking enough to hustle, and got the shuit doing what he knew to survive, so he goes to jail for nothing really, since HIV isn't present in Saliva ? Everytime I lose the toss of the coin, you know what I do with my spit.....watch that sauce the special foamy kind of green, that doesn't quite look like the rest of the sauce, it must be good, never got a complaint....


  • Name: Lee
    Date posted: 2008-05-19 12:11 PM
    Hometown: New York

    Comment:

    HIV can not be transmitted through saliva - where were the experts at this trail? The Prosecutor should be prosectuted.


  • Name: B
    Date posted: 2008-05-19 10:25 AM
    Hometown: Austin

    Comment:

    1) This is Texas 2) People are stupid Not everyone in Texas is stupid. Not everyone in Texas agrees with the fascist politicos and court systems. Instead of insulting us, how about giving us a hand in trying to change things for the better down here.


  • Name: William OBrien
    Date posted: 2008-05-19 7:22 AM
    Hometown: NY, NY

    Comment:

    Alan Jones is correct, HIV does not survive long in the saliva, nor would there be any risk of infection in the absence of frank bleeding (via gums/tongue/cheek) in the man's mouth... however, 1) this is Texas and 2) people are stupid. It sounds like this homeless man has a few active psych issues as it is, and our treatment of mental illness in this country is horrible. At best, this man needed an inpatient admit to a psych facility for polysubstance abuse - but the "HIV as a deadly weapon" is just a reflection of a larger problem in this case.


  • Name: Alan Jones
    Date posted: 2008-05-17 3:01 AM
    Hometown: Biloxi MS

    Comment:

    "...harassing a public servant with a deadly weapon." Who in this legal proceeding decided spitting is deadly? HIV is not present in saliva. Spitting is certainly rude but hardly a deadly act.


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