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COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - South Carolina prison officials are preparing to be sued by the U.S. Justice Department over the state's policy of housing HIV-positive inmates in separate dorms.

Wednesday is the deadline set by the Justice Department for South Carolina to stop the practice or face possible legal action.

Corrections Department attorney David Tatarsky wrote to the Justice Department last month saying state officials won't budge on the policy they say is best for inmates and employees.

Alabama is the only other state that separates infected inmates. Both states were criticized earlier this year in an American Civil Liberties Union report that said officials should give prisoners condoms and syringes to slow the spread of AIDS but should house all inmates together.

The Justice Department did not immediately return messages seeking comment.