During the trial, Mr. Campbell, who prosecutors say has been H.I.V. positive since 1994, denied that he had resisted arrest or spit at an officer, his lawyer, Russell Henrichs, said Thursday.
Mr. Henrichs added that his client had been indicted under a habitual-offender statute that increased the penalty in his case to a minimum of 25 years in prison, because he had been convicted of attacking two other officers in a similar manner and biting two inmates, as well as more than two dozen other offenses.
“You can see why we thought that we needed to get this guy off the streets,” said Jenni Morse, who prosecuted the current case.
None of the three officers attacked by Mr. Campbell contracted H.I.V., Ms. Morse said.
After Mr. Campbell was convicted by a jury, he shouted at the prosecutor and police officers, calling them liars and telling them to “rot in hell” for “railroading an innocent man.” He was forced to listen to the rest of sentencing from a holding cell.
Mr. Campbell waived his right to appeal and is awaiting transfer from the Dallas jail to prison.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, H.I.V. is primarily spread through sexual contact or the exchange of blood. Although there have been rare cases of transmission through severe bites, “contact with saliva, tears or sweat has never been shown to result in transmission of H.I.V.,” the agency reports.
An HIV-positive man was sentenced to 35 years in prison Wednesday, one day after being convicted of harassment of a public servant for spitting into the eye and open mouth of a Dallas, Texas police officer in May 2006. The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that no one has ever contracted HIV from saliva, and a gay-rights and AIDS advocacy group called the sentence excessive.

Scanning electron micrograph of HIV-1 (in green) budding from cultured lymphocyte 
A Dallas County jury concluded that Willie Campbell's act of spitting on  policeman Dan Waller in 2006 constituted the use of his saliva as a deadly weapon. The incident occurred while Campbell, 42, was resisting arrest while being taken into custody for public intoxication.

"He turns and spits. He hits me in the eye and mouth. Then he told me he has AIDS. I immediately began looking for something to flush my eyes with," said Waller to ''The Dallas Morning News''. 

Officer Waller responded after a bystander reported seeing an unconscious male lying outside a building. Dallas County prosecutors stated that Campbell attempted to fight paramedics and kicked the police officer who arrested him for public intoxication. 


Prosecutors said that Campbell yelled that he was innocent during the trial, and claimed a police officer was lying. Campbell's lawyer Russell Heinrichs said that because he had a history of convictions including similarly attacking two other police officers, biting inmates, and other offenses, he was indicted under a habitual offender statute. The statute increased his minimum sentence to 25 years in prison. Because the jury ruled that Campbell's saliva was used as a deadly weapon, he will not be eligible for parole until completing at least half his sentence. 


The organization Lambda Legal (Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund), which advocates for individuals living with HIV, says that saliva should not be considered a deadly weapon. Bebe Anderson, the HIV projects director at Lambda Legal, spoke with ''The Dallas Morning News'' about the sentence. "It's been 25 years since the virus was identified, but there are still lots of fears," said Anderson. 

The Dallas County prosecutor who handled the trial, Jenni Morse, said that the deadly weapon finding was justified. "No matter how minuscule, there is some risk. That means there is the possibility of causing serious bodily injury or death," said Morse. Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins stated: "If you look at the facts of this case, it was clear that the defendant intended to cause serious bodily injury."


A page at the CDC's website, ''HIV and Its Transmission'', states: "HIV has been found in saliva and tears in very low quantities from some AIDS patients." The subsection "Saliva, Tears, and Sweat" concludes that: "Contact with saliva, tears, or sweat has never been shown to result in transmission of HIV." On Friday the Dallas County Health Department released a statement explaining that HIV is most commonly spread through sexual contact, sharing needles, or transfusion from an infected blood product.