They wouldn't touch Miguel. Instead they called the hospital, and twenty minutes later doctors appeared with latex gloves carrying a stretcher. Miguel was thrown on the bed and carried away to the isolation cell block. AIDS awareness among prisoners and guards is practically non-existent. Rikers Island houses inmates in 10 separate jails.
Women of color are the fastest growing segment of the population.
Most of the prisoners are there not because they have been convicted of a crime but because they have been accused of a crime and cannot make bail while awaiting trial. Donna M. was a crack user who prostituted for crack or money. She was arrested last year in a drug sweep. Donna was suffering with full-blown AIDS at the time. The drugs kept her functioning in a state of denial about the poor quality of her life.