Inmate Toni Tramel will be the subject of new basis for an felonious assault on a prison guard: assault by breast milk. While Tramel claims it was an accident, a guard said that she was squirted in the face by Tramel on purpose when Tramel was being processed for public intoxication.
Normally, third degree assault in Kentucky is confined to a a person who “recklessly, with a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument, or intentionally causes or attempts to cause physical injury.” However, there is a special provision for inmates:
Being a person confined in a detention facility, or state residential treatment
facility or state staff secure facility for residential treatment which provides
for the care, treatment, or detention of a juvenile charged with or adjudicated
delinquent because of a public offense or as a youthful offender, inflicts
physical injury upon or throws or causes feces, or urine, or other bodily fluid
to be thrown upon an employee of the facility.
The case will come down to intent and some interesting testimony. If guilty, Tramel succeeded in elevating a misdemeanor to a class D felony.
Here is the provision: 025
The officer went through a bio-hazard decontamination process after the incident.
For the full story, click here.
Or in the alternative . . .
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6EaoPMANQM&hl=en_US&fs=1&]
AY,
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34ag4nkSh7Q&hl=en_US&fs=1&]
Buddha Is Laughing 1, March 9, 2010 at 5:19 pm
Some people would pay extra for that.
Not me.
I’m just sayin’ . . .
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And how would you be so knowledgeable?
I would say spit it out…..
The criminal justice system involves assessing and assigning different degrees of guilt to criminal human behavior. It this specific instance, the charge is excessive given the type of body fluid. I just think that a partial Baptismal sprinkling via breast milk should not be equated with those other, more potentially dangerous bodily fluids mentioned when assessing degrees of guilt in this case.
Furthermore, there are risks involved with any commonly innocuous microbe from any host when transferred to another host whose immune system is compromised or less resistant to specific microbial strains. Soon we will be criminalizing the spray of water vapor droplets via a sneeze because most often those contain potential pathogenic vectors.
Yes, the woman should receive some punishment, but a felony charge is far too excessive.
rofl…yes Buddah, you are probably very correct about that!!
Some people would pay extra for that.
Not me.
I’m just sayin’ . . .
” The risk of HIV transmission is remote, even if another baby consumes the breast milk from a known HIV mother that is not even the baby’s mother.
Therefore, the risk of the guard getting HIV from a spray of breast milk on facial skin is most likely infinitesimally remote.” FFLEO
You’re correct the risk of HIV transmission through breast milk is slight, yet still exsists. The risk, however of Hepititis transmission is much higher. In addition, breast milk does not ” accidently squirt ” into people’s faces, it was definately an intentional behaviour. Left without consequence, inmates will quickly learn that they can start throwing bodily fluids ( urine, feces, blodd…etc ) at prison employees on a whim. Lets not forget, while some guards are ” bad ” many are behind the walls to earn a living. I certainly wouldn;t want to go to work to have bodily fluids thrown in my face!
Of course it’s an amusing story, but Canadian Eh and Marnie are right: You would not find it so funny if you had an inmate do that to you. (I’ve been there, also.)
The statute may be a bit overbroad, as it was probably aimed mainly at urine, feces, blood, saliva and semen, but in principle this type of overbreadth is no different from other felonious assault cases in which defendants resort to unusual, surprising, innovative or unanticipated weapons. I predict that if she is HIV negative, the charge will be reduced to something more like an ordinary battery.
The baby could have fetal alcohol syndrome.
SM said “I wonder what is happening to the drunk woman’s baby.”
If the fact that she is lactating and the charge of “public intoxication” are any indication, the answer is probably; detoxing.
To the extent that breast milk is a bodly fluid, it could carry HIV and hepatitius B&C. And so is a potentially lethal weapon.
Canadian Eh,
The risk of HIV transmission is remote, even if another baby consumes the breast milk from a known HIV mother that is not even the baby’s mother.
Therefore, the risk of the guard getting HIV from a spray of breast milk on facial skin is most likely infinitesimally remote.
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Quote from the CDC:
What can happen if someone else’s breast milk is given to another child?
HIV and other serious infectious diseases can be transmitted through breast milk. However, the risk of infection from a single bottle of breast milk, even if the mother is HIV positive, is extremely small. For women who do not have HIV or other serious infectious diseases, there is little risk to the child who receives her breast milk
http://www.cdc.gov/breastfeeding/faq/index.htm
End Quote
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