Brian Stewart (phlebotomist)

Infobox Criminal
subject_name =Brian Stewart


image_size =
image_caption =
conviction =First-degree assault
penalty =Life imprisonment
status =In prison
occupation =Phlebotomist

Brian T. Stewart (born 1966) is a phlebotomist from Columbia, Illinois.cite news|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0DEFDB103BF937A35751C1A96E958260|title=Man Accused of Injecting H.I.V. in Son|last=Thomas|first=Jo|accessdate=2008-05-24|date=1998-12-04|work=New York Times] In April 1998 he was accused of injecting his son with HIV. The incident allegedly happened on February 6, 1992 in St Joseph's Hospital West, which is located in Lake St. Louis, Missouri. Stewart's son, who was 11 months old at the time, was being treated in hospital for asthma and pneumonia when he was infected with the virus.cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/US/9804/22/briefs.pm/aids.father/index.html|title=Man accused of injecting infant son with HIV|date=1998-04-22|accessdate=2008-05-24|work=CNN] Prosecutors stated that Stewart injected his son with the virus when his partner, Jennifer, left the room. On her return, she found her son "screaming and crying".cite news|url=http://daily.stanford.edu/article/2002/11/8/theWorldIsSoTight|title=A Weekly Compendium of Horror Stories from Around the Globe|accessdate=2008-05-24|work=Stanford Daily|date=2002-11-08|last=Wass|first=Julian] On April 22 1998, Stewart was charged with first-degree assault; the county prosecutor stated that this was because first-degree assault results in a longer sentence than an attempted murder conviction. A Missouri jury found Stewart guilty of first-degree assault in December 6 1998. Stewart's attorney, Joe Murphy, said that "My client has maintained all along that he is innocent" and also claimed that "Mom made an allegation and everyone ran with it."cite web|url=http://www.cnn.com/US/9812/06/aids.inject.conviction/|title=Man convicted for injecting his son with HIV virus|date=1998-12-06|accessdate=2008-05-24|work=CNN] On January 9, 1999, Stewart was sentenced to life imprisonment at St. Charles County Circuit Court.cite web|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9805E5D91F3EF93AA35752C0A96F958260&n=Top/Reference/Times%20Topics/Subjects/C/Children%20and%20Youth |title=National News Briefs; Man Is Given Life Term In Boy's AIDS Infection|accessdate=2008-05-24|date=1999-01-09|work=New York Times] The alleged motive behind the crime was Stewart's wish not to pay child support to look after his son.cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/US/9804/24/aids.injection/|title=Mother in HIV case pleads for privacy|date=1998-04-24|accessdate=2008-05-24|work=CNN]

The prosecution's case was based entirely on circumstantial evidence, while the defense attorneys argued that the son's infection had been caused by a convicted child sexual abuser or injected-drug user who had visited the boy's home. However, none of the people who had visited the home tested positive for HIV.

References

*AIDS Policy Law. 1998 Dec 25;13(22):11.

External links

* [http://www.nd.edu/~ndmag/crimef99.htm Article claiming that the verdict was questionable]
* [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=health&res=9D0DEFDB103BF937A35751C1A96E958260 New York Times: Man Accused of Injecting H.I.V. in Son]
* [http://www.courts.mo.gov/courts/pubopinions.nsf/ccd96539c3fb13ce8625661f004bc7da/f7bc365c0c90d7fd862568af0053dd8a?OpenDocument Missouri Court Ruling] on denial of appeal, 2001.