A convicted murderer serving a life sentence in an Iowa prison argued his sentence had expired after his heart stopped momentarily and therefore he was technically 'dead.'
Benjamin Schreiber, who was convicted of first-degree murder in the mid-1990s for clubbing a man to death with the handle of a pickaxe, claimed he had successfully fulfilled his life sentence as a result after he died momentarily in hospital but was resuscitated back to life.
In 2015, Schreiber developed kidney stones and began suffering from septic poisoning, according to CNN.
He lost consciousness and was moved from the Iowa State Penitentiary to a nearby hospital.
At the medical facility, Schreiber was resuscitated five times after his heart had briefly stopped.
Doctors used epinephrine and adrenaline to revive him, and once he stabilized, they treated his sepsis and he was sent back to jail.
After this incident, Schreiber tried to argue in court that he should be allowed to walk free because he had technically died and been brought back to life, fulfilling his life sentence.
Schreiber also claimed that he was revived against his will since he had signed a 'Do Not Resuscitate' order years earlier, according to The Des Moines Register.
Schreiber's brother was brought in and told medical staff that "if he is in pain, you may give him something to ease the pain, but otherwise you are to let him pass."
However, the court was not persuaded by his argument.
A lower court stated that Schreiber's argument was "unpersuasive and without merit."
Schreiber then took his case to the Iowa Court of Appeals, but they also rejected his argument.
A three-judge panel weighed in on the case, and Justice Amanda Potterfield wrote in her decision: “We do not believe the legislature intended this provision, which defines the sentences for the most serious class of felonies under Iowa law and imposes its ‘harshest penalty’... to set criminal defendants free whenever medical procedures during their incarceration lead to their resuscitation by medical professionals.”
Justice Potterfield added: “Schreiber is either still alive, in which case he must remain in prison, or he is actually dead, in which case this appeal is moot."
The appeals court cited Iowa state law, which says anyone guilty of a class A felony "must spend the rest of their natural life in prison, regardless of how long that period of time ends up being or any events occurring before the defendant’s life ends."
Despite Schreiber's claim that he had technically died and fulfilled his life sentence, the court ruled that he must remain in prison. Schreiber died last month (April 2023) "due to natural causes" at Unity Point Medical Center in Fort Dodge.
