In the ABC News story, Free Condoms for Prisoners?, the National Minority AIDS Council recommends distributing condoms to inmates to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS. The article reports:

•  "[...]that the prevalence of HIV infection in U.S. prisons and jails is six to 10 times higher than that seen in the general free population."
•  "One study in 2002 estimated that about one-quarter of the U.S. population infected with HIV had spent some time each year in a prison or jail."

This controversial topic is not new.  Back in 1989, an article in the Large Jail Network Bulletin, Condoms to be Disbributed in San Francisco County Jail, profiled the program instituted at their jails.