HIV killer no longer a threat: lawyers
The Canadian Press
Posted: Jun 29, 2011 12:30 PM ET
Last Updated: Jun 29, 2011 3:20 PM ET
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Lawyers for a man convicted of murder through HIV transmission say he shouldn't be classed as a dangerous offender because he's no longer a threat to the public.
Munyonzwe Hamalengwa says Johnson Aziga shouldn't be treated as some kind of "sexual psychopath."
The lawyer says his client has learned a lot about HIV and AIDS after eight years in jail and doesn't want to infect anybody else.
Johnson Aziga's lawyers say he has promised to disclose his condition to any future sexual partners. (Canadian Press) The Crown is seeking the dangerous offender designation that could see Aziga jailed indefinitely.
But during his closing arguments Wednesday in Hamilton, Hamalengwa says that designation applies to violent, sexual psychopaths who are driven by "uncontrollable hormone rage" — not to his client.
Aziga was convicted in 2009 of two counts of first-degree murder, 10 counts of aggravated sexual assault and one count of attempted aggravated sexual assault.
Hamalengwa says Aziga has promised to disclose his condition to any future sexual partners, use condoms and has responded well to medication that keeps his HIV under control.
Aziga has learned his lesson, he says in his closing argument, and the public can rest assured that there is "layer after layer" of reduced risk.
Aziga's convictions are related to 11 women with whom he had unprotected sex without telling them he had HIV.
Seven of the women became infected, with two dying of AIDS-related cancers.
The Crown has argued that Aziga has an abnormally high libido that could lead him to reoffend, but his lawyers dismissed questions about his sex drive as a "red herring."
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