MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - The legal troubles for a Minneapolis man accused of passing the HIV virus to others appear to be over.
The Hennepin County attorney has declined to retry Daniel Rick on charges overturned by the Minnesota Supreme Court. Charges in another case of transferring a communicable disease had been dropped as part of a plea deal.
Rick’s attorney, Landon Ascheman, tells the Star Tribune (https://strib.mn/QrdZ0V ) his client is happy to put this behind him.
Rick’s case drew attention from medical and civil rights groups who said it violated the defendant’s constitutional rights. The 33-year-old man was convicted in 2011 of attempted first-degree assault under a statute that makes it illegal to knowingly transfer a communicable disease. The state Supreme Court ruled last year that Rick was wrongfully convicted under an incorrect interpretation of an ambiguous state law.
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Information from: Star Tribune, https://www.startribune.com
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