Benjamin Schreiber, a man serving a life sentence for murder in Iowa, made a shocking claim: after briefly dying and being revived by doctors, his life sentence was now complete. Schreiber was convicted of killing John Dale Terry in 1996, bludgeoning him with a pickaxe handle outside a trailer in Agency, Iowa. He was sentenced to life without parole and spent years in prison.
In 2015, Schreiber was rushed to a hospital with severe kidney stones that caused a serious infection. During treatment, he lost consciousness and was declared clinically dead several times before being revived by doctors, despite a do-not-resuscitate order on file. Schreiber argued that since the law sentenced him to “life,” his brief death meant his sentence was over.
He filed an appeal in court, saying he should be freed because he had technically completed his “life” sentence. However, a judge rejected this argument, stating that “life” means the convict must spend the rest of their natural life in prison, regardless of medical events. The court noted that either Schreiber is still alive and must stay in prison, or he is dead and the appeal is moot.
Schreiber remained in prison until his final death in April 2023 at age 70. His unique legal claim sparked much debate but was ultimately dismissed. What are your thoughts on his argument?
