NY Seeks to Jail HIV Infector Indefinitely

Nushawn Williams

The women thought they were getting love -- or at least some physical gratification -- when the bedded down with Nushawn Williams, but the drug-abusing, sex-obsessed New York man was giving the gift of HIV to his victims instead.

Now, after serving 12 years for his despicable crime, New York authorities have a problem.

What are they to do with Williams, 33, upon his release, since he has shown little remorse for his crime, demonstrated violent behavior and just might try to infect more women?

The answer is to simply keep Williams in jail.

Under a civil law designed to keep dangerous offenders off the street even when they finish their prison term, New York authorities are seeking to keep Williams in jail indefinitely.

Civil libertarians may howl at the notion of keeping someone imprisoned after serving their sentence, and usually, I'd be right along with them.

But every now and then, a criminal will test the limits of how to balance an inmate's personal rights against the safety of society at large. And in this balance, I'm sorry, Mr. Williams, but you come out on the short end of the ledger.

It's bad enough that 13 women are at risk for doing nothing more than having had sex with him. It's amazing to me that Williams served just 12 years for what amounts to 13 counts of attempted murder.

Two of his victims who contracted HIV later had children born with the virus. Sickening.

The notion that even one more person should be threatened by Williams' freedom is a risk none of us can accept.

The authorities seeking to hold Williams should be forced to show exactly why he still poses a risk, and goals should be established for his behavior so that he, with the proper counseling, can work toward his release day.

But it doesn't sound like that day has come just yet, so until he is ready to be a productive citizen, Williams should cool his heels in prison.

A hearing is scheduled for Williams on May 6 to determine if there is enough evidence to hold him.