Plans finalized in HIV trial

LJWorld.com weblogs The Lawrence Crime Blotter

Posted by Eric Weslander September 22, 2006 at 12:22 p.m.

A court hearing this morning finalized plans for the upcoming jury trial of a Lawrence man charged with exposing four women to HIV.Robert W. Richardson II, 30, appeared in Douglas County District Court, where his defense attorney and a prosecutor made arguments about what evidence will be excluded from trial. For example, Judge Stephen Six granted prosecutors' request to not allow the defense to ask about whether the alleged victims ever contracted HIV. All four women have said they tested negative, but Six found it wasn't relevant given that the criminal law covering HIV exposure doesn't require the victim to actually contract the disease. Six also ruled that defense attorney Thomas Johnson can't use testimony from a psychologist who evaluated Richardson and found he didn't believe Richardson intended to expose the women to HIV. The question of Richardson's intent, the judge said, is for the jury to answer.Jury selection in the trial will begin Tuesday afternoon, and opening statements will begin Wednesday morning.Other news:¢ Fatal wreck: An Oskaloosa man died Thursday afternoon when his car ran into a ditch, went airborne, landed on its nose and rolled over on Kansas Highway 4 in Jefferson County, according to the Kansas Highway Patrol.Terry J. Farmer, 55, was driving a 1996 Nissan Altima north on K-4 about 4:15 p.m. when he lost control of the car, according to a report. It went airborne for 128 feet, according to the highway patrol. He was wearing a seat belt, the report says. ¢ Dog bite: Police say they're investigating a report that two dogs bit a 5-year-old girl earlier this week at "Dad" Perry Park in the 1200 block of Monterey Way. Police were called to the hospital Wednesday evening. The girl says she was walking in the park's playground about 6:30 p.m. that night when two small dogs with collars approached her and began biting her. She described seeing a boy in the area who left the park with the dogs. Police were not able to find the dogs, and as of this morning they still were unidentified.-Contributed by [Eric Weslander.][1] [1]: http://www2.ljworld.com/staff/eric_weslander

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Kristen 6 years, 8 months ago

Absolutely, Marion. It's his intent and actions that matter, not the end result. And that's how the law should (and does) read.

GardenMomma 6 years, 8 months ago

I do think the women have gotten more reliable HIV tests than home test kits.

spanningtime 6 years, 8 months ago

There is no real proof any of these people have HIV since there is no actual test to prove it. Here is what the package inserts on the tests say.

"EIA testing alone cannot be used to diagnose AIDS, even if the recommended investigation of reactive specimens suggests a high probability that the antibody to HIV-1 is present. [...] At present there is no recognized standard for establishing the presence and absence of HIV-1 antibody in human blood. Therefore sensitivity was computed based on the clinical diagnosis of AIDS and specificity based on random donors"1

"Do not use this kit as the sole basis of diagnosing HIV-1 infection"2

"The Amplicor HIV-1 Monitor test is not intended to be used as a screening test for HIV or as a diagnostic test to confirm the presence of HIV infection"3

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