Iowa man requests release from life in prison because he 'briefly died'

“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,” Judge Amanda Potterfield wrote.

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Prison cell block (photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)
Prison cell block
(photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)
An Iowa prisoner who was sentenced in 1997 to life in prison without the possibility of parole for murder, requested to be released claiming that he had already died, and thus has served his sentence.
Benjamin Schreiber argued that he "briefly died" in 2015 when his heart stop beating. The doctors were able to restore his pulse and save his life, which gave him the idea that he has fully served his sentence.
But the judges rejected his request, claiming that, “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,” Judge Amanda Potterfield wrote.
This odd story started back in March 2015, when Schreiber, then 62, had a kidney stone that got infected. He was rushed unconscious to the hospital where he went through cardiopulmonary resuscitation and surgery, and was given antibiotics.
Schreiber, who was sentenced to life without parole after being convicted of murder for killing a man with the handle of an ax in 1996, according to The New York Times, turned to the court in 2018 requesting to be released, claiming that he has momentarily died, thus completing his sentence.
In his appeal, Schreiber added that he was resuscitated against his will, which meant his "sentence has expired."
Schreiber's request was declined by the court, and was declined once more after he appealed, stating that he is yet to serve his sentence. “We do not find his argument persuasive," Potterfield said.