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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

‘Aids Bandits’ Add Pressure To Change Jail Rule

Associated Press

A gang of HIV-infected robbers has exposed the shortcomings of a well-meaning law that makes the AIDS virus a ticket to freedom for thousands of inmates and criminal suspects.

Turin’s “AIDS bandits” have pulled off a series of bank heists this summer, hitting again on Friday. As in the previous robberies, the suspects have been released under a law that bans the jailing of people ailing from the virus that causes AIDS.

The series of robberies illustrates how the attempt at compassion by lawmakers was warped by a lack of planning, funds and coordination.

Turin prosecutors have asked the Constitutional Court for a ruling on the 1993 law, and some legislators promise to seek immediate revisions.

Raffaele Costa, head of a conservative parliamentary bloc, said reforms will be demanded at a Cabinet meeting Aug. 21.

“The government can and must, by decree, confront and resolve this problem,” Costa said Wednesday. “Certainly there are people who will take advantage of their condition to commit crimes.”

The Justice Ministry said the law will be modified, but did not give details of possible changes.

The law - part of an overall rights initiative - mandated hospital beds rather than prison cells for AIDS- and HIV-infected criminals and suspects whose immune systems show deterioration. Its supporters appealed for a humanitarian gesture toward people suffering from an incurable illness.