A new report from The Williams Institute examining the beginning and ending stages of the HIV criminalization cycle in Louisiana paints an even clearer picture of the demographic most impacted by discriminatory and outdated laws criminalizing people with HIV in the state. 

Black people—and especially Black men—were the majority of people identified as suspects and arrested for HIV-related crimes, according to research by The Williams Institute. 

Louisiana enacted its law in 1987, becoming one of the first states to criminalize HIV—nine years before the release of lifesaving antiretroviral drugs that allowed people living with HIV to achieve viral suppression and before FDA approval of PrEP, a game-changer in HIV prevention. 

Louisiana has one primary HIV criminal law, intentional exposure to HIV. Intentional exposure is a felony; the maximum sentence is ten years imprisonment and a $5,000 fine. The law provides a heightened sentence for deliberate exposure to a first responder performing their official duties. In this case, the maximum penalty increases to 11 years and a fine of up to $6,000. Additionally, a conviction for intentional exposure to HIV requires the person convicted to register as a sex offender under Louisiana law for 15 years. 

While there is only one federal HIV criminalization law, more than two-thirds of states and territories across the United States have HIV criminal laws, according to The Williams Institute. Most HIV criminal laws do not require the actual transmission of HIV or intent to transmit HIV. In many cases, these laws criminalize conduct that poses no actual risk of transmission, such as spitting or biting. 

Highlights from The Williams Institute Report: 

• The number of HIV-related arrests and prosecutions has not decreased in recent years.

• Most incidents involved only allegations of an HIV-related crime. In the statewide incident-based data, 80% of incidents included only allegations of an HIV-related crime.

• In the statewide incident-based data, 63% of suspects were Black—45% were Black men. For incidents that resulted in arrest, all those arrested were Black, and 91% were Black men.

• Non-sexual contact likely was the basis for the alleged crime in most incidents for which we have data. 

• There have been at least 47 separate HIV-related convictions resulting in sex offender registration since 1998 involving 43 people.

• Most people (63%) on the sex offender registry because of an HIV-related conviction are on the registry only because of the HIV-related conviction.

• The vast majority of arrests, prosecutions, and convictions are pursuant to state laws that do not require the actual transmission of HIV, the intent to transmit, or even conduct that can transmit HIV.

• Convictions for HIV crimes can carry long sentences and create lifelong collateral consequences from a felony conviction. Some states also require registration on the state’s sex offender registry.

HIV is treated differently under Louisiana law compared to other sexually transmitted infections (STI). Louisiana law has also imposed a duty to disclose whether an individual has a “venereal disease” before engaging in sexual conduct; However, The Williams Institute notes that requirement is located in the public health code rather than the criminal code. In addition, punishment is less severe. An STI public health statute violation results only in a fine between $10 and $200 for a first-time offense. A fine of between $25 and $400 for a second offense. And a fine of between $50 and $500 and/or imprisonment of ten days and six months for any subsequent offense.

Read the entire report “Enforcement of HIV Criminalization in Louisiana” here.