"And if you spit at Bush, we'll EXECUTE you"

Apparently, a man has been jailed for 35 years spitting at a policeman in Texas. Yes, really.

Why?

Oh, because he was HIV positive, so it was assault with a deadly weapon. Of course, there's no evidence that HIV has ever been spread through saliva, but the Texas justice system has a well-known tradition of brain-dead-ness, anyway. People are arguing that the man thought that his spit would be infectious, but that doesn't seem to have been reported, and even if it was it should be sort of beside the point. If you pray to some god or other that (say) George Bush gets eaten by a tiger, that isn't assault with a deadly weapon, even if you believe that it might come true.

So, remember, if you have any dangerous disease, don't visit Texas. They're entirely likely to decide that you can die of being looked at someone with breast cancer, or something.

Question for Texan lawyers; if a shop unknowingly sells someone salmonella-infected spinach, and they die, can the owner be done for involuntary manslaughter? Because that would make WAY more sense than killer AIDS-spit.

I'm sure it will be overturned on appeal, but really, at this point, the US needs to invest in a press department for its justice system. It's all very well for the justice system to be entirely unjust, as in this case, but if it makes you look insane in front of the rest of the world, it's a problem.