MUSKEGON, Mich. (AP) - The state appeals court has upheld a prison sentence given to a woman who had sex without informing her partners that she carried the AIDS virus.
The court dismissed Brenda Jensen's constitutional challenges and said any errors during the Muskegon County trial were harmless.
Jensen's "life-threatening behavior" made her a "danger to society," the court said in a decision released Monday.
In 1995, she was ordered to prison for 32 months to four years for violating a Michigan law that requires people to inform sex partners if they carry the virus.
Jensen was 34 and had lived at an adult foster home. She had a low IQ of 68.
The appeals-court ruling was praised by Prosecutor Tony Tague, who said "it paves the way for prosecutors throughout the state to utilize the (law) to safeguard the public."
"It's unfortunate that we have persons like Jensen who are unconcerned about the welfare of the community at large," he said.
Prison officials declined to discuss Jensen's current health. When she was sentenced two years ago, experts said she was showing symptoms of AIDS.
At that time, she said she understood the danger her condition posed to others but didn't feel prison was appropriate.
"I paid for what I done wrong, being in jail and all that," Jensen said.
During the trial, a 38-year-old man said he had sex with her three times without knowing about the AIDS virus.
Authorities became aware of Jensen's sexual activities in 1992. She refused orders that she inform partners of her condition.