Declared dead and brought back to life, he claims his freedom… but the justice system says no
In 1997, Benjamin Schreiber was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in Iowa for the brutal murder of a man with a hatchet handle. In March 2015, while serving his time, he developed severe septicemia caused by kidney stones, fell unconscious, and saw his heart stop. Doctors revived him five times, despite a do-not-resuscitate order he had signed. Armed with this extraordinary experience, Schreiber filed for release in 2018, arguing that his clinical death technically ended his sentence because he was sentenced to life in prison, "but not life plus one day." The Iowa Court of Appeals rejected his request on November 6, 2019, with a response as sharp as it was unassailable: "Schreiber is either alive, in which case he must remain in prison, or dead, in which case this appeal is moot." The argument, as original as it was desperate, proved futile: Benjamin Schreiber passed away in prison of natural causes on April 7, 2023, at the age of 70.
In 1997, Benjamin Schreiber was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in Iowa for the brutal murder of a man with a hatchet handle. In March 2015, while serving his time, he developed severe septicemia caused by kidney stones, fell unconscious, and saw his heart stop. Doctors revived him five times, despite a do-not-resuscitate order he had signed. Armed with this extraordinary experience, Schreiber filed for release in 2018, arguing that his clinical death technically ended his sentence because he was sentenced to life in prison, "but not life plus one day." The Iowa Court of Appeals rejected his request on November 6, 2019, with a response as sharp as it was unassailable: "Schreiber is either alive, in which case he must remain in prison, or dead, in which case this appeal is moot." The argument, as original as it was desperate, proved futile: Benjamin Schreiber passed away in prison of natural causes on April 7, 2023, at the age of 70.