Jmmt o u t ▼ M w a b « r 1 9 0 2 ▼ 9
HIV-positive prisoners on
medication strike
More than 100 HIV-positive prisoners in
Vacaville, Calif., are risking their lives in a medi
cation strike to protest what they charge is dis
criminatory treatment and severely inadequate
medical care from prison staff and authorities.
The inmates of the T and U wings of the
California Medical Facility prison at Vacaville
decided to begin the dangerous strike on Sept. 19
after six prisoners with HIV died in less than one
week.
ACT UP San Francisco held a press confer
ence outside the gates of the Vacaville prison on
Oct. 1 to bring attention to the situation inside.
Activists read letters from HIV-positive inmates
describing the conditions inside. One prisoner
said he was writing in order “to share the absolute
wonder of how this has been allowed to continue
for so long. Dear people of great consciousness,
without you we are doomed, for the powers that
are in place now have a carte blanche to treat us as
lepers, miscreants...and being allowed to disre
gard the fact that we are human beings.
“We have an administration of medical doc
tors that somehow believe that this is a punish
ment from God,” the prisoner continued. Talking
about a fellow prisoner who died in his cell, he
said, “This poor soul walked the hallways for over
four days. He was complaining of severe head
aches, nausea, dizziness and a host of other ail
ments. The medical technician told him he had to
wait to see a doctor. On either the fourth or fifth
day, this man was found dead in his cell. And I
have to ask why? Why was this man allowed to
live and die in such torment? And why was his
death not considered to be of consequence? Who
can help us?”
The inmates charged that the HIV unit at
Vacaville is understaffed. Three AIDS doctors
have left within the past few months, and the
prisoners charge that those doctors who remain
do not have the expertise or the caring to provide
adequate services.
Dr. Jan Diamond, one of the three AIDS
doctors who left the prison in the past few months,
acknowledged that the facility does need more
medical staff.
“I feel like the biggest problem is we need
more AIDS-competent physicians. I think there
have been some problems. Some very well-
meaning physicians are doing the best they can.
Some get jaded and don’t have supportive atti
tudes toward patients,” she said. “If someone
finds us a physician who is AIDS-sensitive and is
willing to work for the Department of Correc
tions, they’d roll out the red carpet.”
The HIV-positive prisoners say they are also
being discriminated against. They report being
segregated from HIV-negative prisoners and
double-celled in an area of the prison that has no
electricity, which means that there are no fans or
ventilation. The temperature rises as high as 100
to 110 degrees inside the cells.
The striking prisoners presented their demands
to prison authorities in a meeting on Sept. 30 and
were not promised that any would be met.
Their demands included: the hiring and reten
tion of AIDS-experienced doctors, timely diag
nosis and treatment of HIV and AIDS, no forced
segregation, an end to double-celling, access to
phase 2 and 3 clinical trials, equal visitation
rights, voluntary and anonymous HIV testing,
immediate release for prisoners with late-stage
disease and no reprisals against striking prison
ers.
Solange Books, a communications represen
tative for the California Department of Correc
tions, confirmed several of the prisoners’ com
plaints. Brooks admitted that the HIV-positive
prisoners are, in fact, segregated, that HIV testing
is not anonymous and that the prison system’s
compassionate-release program is very limited.
She said that in order to qualify for compas
-800 GET LILY
sionate release, a prisoner must have less than six
months to live, must not have committed a violent
crime and must be deemed “not to pose any
danger to society.” If the prisoner passes those
three tests, his or her case is processed for six
weeks at the CDC headquarters in Sacramento
and then goes to the courts. Brooks admitted that
the least amount of time it has ever taken any
prisoner to be released was four months, leaving
him or her two months to live outside the prison
gates.
“There is a lot of misunderstanding and misin
formation out there about our program. I would
say we’re on a par with the medical service
provided to the outside population. And we’re a
lot better than other places.” Brooks clarified that
she thinks the treatment at Vacaville is as good as
the treatment at San Francisco General Hospital.
Though representatives from San Francisco
General Hospital refused to comment on Brooks’
statement, members of ACT UP and CHAIN, the
California HIV Activist and Inmate Network,
pointed to the fact that prisoners with AIDS in
California live only half as long as people with
AIDS on the outside and questioned why the more
than 100 HIV-positive prisoners at Vacaville
would risk their lives if the care meets the stan
dards of the hospitals outside.
Rachel Timoner
Look who’s coming to the
House (and Senate!
A record number of African-Americans, other
people of color and women are expected to be
seated in Congress next year, thanks in part to the
current desire for change in government. Redis
tricting in some states has helped to concentrate
the strength of “minority” voters also. “It will be
the most dramatic increase in the number of
women and people of color in the history of
Congress at one time,” said Rep. John Lewis, D-
Georgia. Carrie Meeker, granddaughter of en
slaved people and daughter of a sharecropper,
will become Florida’s first African-American in
Congress since 1876. Illinois Democrat Carol
Mosely Braun appears likely to become the first
African-American woman ever to be elected to
the U.S. Senate. Political analysts estimate that an
additional 12 African-Americans and five Latinos
are likely to be elected this fall.
Jim Hunger
Two millionaires
challenge Studds
U.S. Rep. Gerry Studds, D-Mass., one of
America’s two openly gay congressmen, faces
two millionaires in the Nov. 3 election, one of
whom targeted Studds with “family values” rheto
ric last time around.
In 1990, Independent Jon Bryan knocked
Studd’s victory margin down from 1988’s 68
percent to only 53 percent.
Stopping short of direct gay-bashing, Bryan
told voters Studds’ “permissiveness” was sicken
ing and that it was time to put “a family man” in
office.
Last month, Bryan wrote his campaign an
other personal check for $100,000 and warned,
“We are going after [Studds] 1,000 miles an
hour.”
Studds also faces millionaire Republican Dan
Daly, former state undersecretary for economic
affairs, who also has the resources of liberal
Republican Gov. William Weld behind him.
“The race is likely to include relentless, nega
tive, personal attacks against [Studds],” says
spokesman Will Woodruff.
The Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund, the Wash
ington group that funnels money to lesbian and
gay candidates, has thrown its resources behind
Studds.
Rex Wockner
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