Nevada Revised Statutes Section 212.189 - Correctional Institutions

Unlawful acts related to human excrement or bodily fluid; penalty; investigation; testing for communicable diseases; plea bargaining prohibited.

1. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 9, a prisoner who is in lawful custody or confinement, other than residential confinement, shall not knowingly:

(a) Store or stockpile any human excrement or bodily fluid;

(b) Sell, supply or provide any human excrement or bodily fluid to any other person;

(c) Buy, receive or acquire any human excrement or bodily fluid from any other person; or

(d) Use, propel, discharge, spread or conceal, or cause to be used, propelled, discharged, spread or concealed, any human excrement or bodily fluid:

(1) With the intent to have the excrement or bodily fluid come into physical contact with any portion of the body of an officer or employee of a prison or any other person, whether or not such physical contact actually occurs; or

(2) Under circumstances in which the excrement or bodily fluid is reasonably likely to come into physical contact with any portion of the body of an officer or employee of a prison or any other person, whether or not such physical contact actually occurs.

2. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 3, if a prisoner violates any provision of subsection 1, the prisoner is guilty of a category B felony and shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for a minimum term of not less than 2 years and a maximum term of not more than 10 years, and may be further punished by a fine of not more than $10,000.

3. If a prisoner violates any provision of paragraph (d) of subsection 1 and, at the time of the offense, the prisoner knew that any portion of the excrement or bodily fluid involved in the offense contained a communicable disease that causes or is reasonably likely to cause substantial bodily harm, whether or not the communicable disease was transmitted to a victim as a result of the offense, the prisoner is guilty of a category A felony and shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison:

(a) For life with the possibility of parole, with eligibility for parole beginning when a minimum of 10 years has been served; or

(b) For a definite term of 25 years, with eligibility for parole beginning when a minimum of 10 years has been served,

Ê and may be further punished by a fine of not more than $50,000.

4. A sentence imposed upon a prisoner pursuant to subsection 2 or 3:

(a) Is not subject to suspension or the granting of probation; and

(b) Must run consecutively after the prisoner has served any sentences imposed upon him for the offense or offenses for which the prisoner was in lawful custody or confinement when he violated the provisions of subsection 1.

5. In addition to any other penalty, the court shall order a prisoner who violates any provision of paragraph (d) of subsection 1 to reimburse the appropriate person or governmental body for the cost of any examinations or testing:

(a) Conducted pursuant to paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection 7; or

(b) Paid for pursuant to subparagraph (2) of paragraph (c) of subsection 7.

6. The warden, sheriff, administrator or other person responsible for administering a prison shall immediately and fully investigate any act described in subsection 1 that is reported or suspected to have been committed in the prison.

7. If there is probable cause to believe that an act described in paragraph (d) of subsection 1 has been committed in a prison:

(a) Each prisoner believed to have committed the act or to have been the bodily source of any portion of the excrement or bodily fluid involved in the act must submit to any appropriate examinations and testing to determine whether each such prisoner has any communicable disease.

(b) If possible, a sample of the excrement or bodily fluid involved in the act must be recovered and tested to determine whether any communicable disease is present in the excrement or bodily fluid.

(c) If the excrement or bodily fluid involved in the act came into physical contact with any portion of the body of an officer or employee of a prison or any other person:

(1) The results of any examinations or testing conducted pursuant to paragraphs (a) and (b) must be provided to each such officer, employee or other person; and

(2) For each such officer or employee, the person or governmental body operating the prison where the act was committed shall pay for any appropriate examinations and testing requested by the officer or employee to determine whether a communicable disease was transmitted to him as a result of the act.

(d) The results of the investigation conducted pursuant to subsection 6 and the results of any examinations or testing conducted pursuant to paragraphs (a) and (b) must be submitted to the district attorney of the county in which the act was committed or to the Office of the Attorney General for possible prosecution of each prisoner who committed the act.

8. If a prisoner is charged with committing an act described in paragraph (d) of subsection 1 and a victim or an intended victim of the act was an officer or employee of a prison, the prosecuting attorney shall not dismiss the charge in exchange for a plea of guilty or nolo contendere to a lesser charge or for any other reason unless the prosecuting attorney knows or it is obvious that the charge is not supported by probable cause or cannot be proved at the time of trial.

9. The provisions of this section do not apply to a prisoner who commits an act described in subsection 1 if the act:

(a) Is otherwise lawful and is authorized by the warden, sheriff, administrator or other person responsible for administering the prison, or his designee, and the prisoner performs the act in accordance with the directions or instructions given to him by that person;

(b) Involves the discharge of human excrement or bodily fluid directly from the body of the prisoner and the discharge is the direct result of a temporary or permanent injury, disease or medical condition afflicting the prisoner that prevents the prisoner from having physical control over the discharge of his own excrement or bodily fluid; or

(c) Constitutes voluntary sexual conduct with another person in violation of the provisions of NRS 212.187.

Last modified: February 26, 2006