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Associated Press - March 17, 2010 2:44 PM ET
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - Corrections Commissioner Chris Epps says the Mississippi prison system will end the practice of keeping male HIV-positive inmates in segregated units.
Epps said Wednesday in a statement that he intends to implement the new policy in May. He said there are currently 152 HIV-positive inmates at the state penitentiary at Parchman.
The ACLU brought suit against the state in 1990 on behalf of HIV-positive prisoners housed at Parchman to force the state to provide proper medical care.
In 2005, U.S. Magistrate Jerry Davis ruled the Mississippi Department of Corrections had addressed problems with prisoner conditions, ending the suit.
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