The Rev. Jesse Jackson took an HIV test Wednesday at the D.C. Jail, as he urged inmates to do the same, and called for such tests to be mandatory in other prisons and jails.
“Today I’m going to take the HIV test,” he told the inmates. “I want you to take it.”
Jackson said “We must kill this disease before it kills us, and even you, in this situation, can be a leader in the fight!”
Jackson praised the District for its “Automatic” HIV/AIDS Testing Program. Department of Corrections Director Devon Brown said “We were the first correctional facility in the country to start an automatic AIDS- testing program.”
Brown said the results of these tests are confidential.
However, this is a worry to some prisoners. “We’re in an overcrowded facility and you’re in a cell with somebody who you basically don’t know too much about,” inmate Pernell Blaine said. Once the results are given and they’re confidential, you can’t go right into his personal business and be like, ‘excuse me, are you HIV-positive?’ ”
Inmates are notified of their HIV status immediately. Counseling is provided for those who test positive, and they start treatment right away. Inmates are tested again as they leave the DOC. Once released, those infected are referred to nearby clinics.
