AIDS Activists Drop Off Condoms at State Prison

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2002. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

AIDS Activists Drop Off Condoms at State Prison

Times Union (Albany, N.Y.) (12.18.02) - Friday, December 20, 2002
Brendan Lyons

In Coxsackie, N.Y., Tuesday, several AIDS activists marched to the gates of Coxsackie Correctional Facility and dropped 2,000 condoms at the feet of corrections officers. New York state prohibits inmates from having condoms, and officials say sex between inmates is illegal. But members of ACT UP-NY claim state officials are ignoring the reality of inmates having sex, and some prisoners are becoming infected with HIV behind bars. "The New York state prison system is a factory for thousands of new HIV infections each year," said Ken Bing, an ACT UP-NY member. "When prisoners are released, those new HIV infections become a public health crisis for their home communities. Prisons are pouring a huge HIV burden out into New York state, which has a horrific human cost as well as a financial cost to the state," Bing said.
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