A prisoner, who argued that his life sentenced had technically been completed after he “died” and came back to life, has recently passed away (officially) “due to natural causes.”
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Prisoner, Who Argued That His Life Sentence Was Completed When He ‘Died’ And Came Back To Life, Dies Of Natural Causes
In the mid 1990s, a man named Benjamin Schreiber was convicted of first-degree murder after hitting a man to death with the handle of a pickaxe. He was subsequently sentenced to life in prison.
Then in 2015, Schreiber had developed kidney stones and began to suffer from septic poisoning. He would end up losing consciousness, and was then transferred from the Iowa State Penitentiary to a local hospital.
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While being treated at the medical facility, the man had to be resuscitated five times after his heart briefly stopped. It is reported that the doctors treating him had to use epinephrine and adrenaline to revive him.
Once the inmate was stabilized, doctors then treated his sepsis, and once he began to recover, he was then sent back to the Iowa State Penitentiary facility.
Since the convicted murderer had his heart stop momentarily, he argued that he technically “died,” thus serving his court-ordered life sentence. He then asked for the courts to consider this technicality as he requested to be released from prison.
However, judges disagreed with his argument. A lower court concluded that the convicted murderer’s request and subsequent argument was “unpersuasive and without merit.”
Then when the prisoner carried his case to the Iowa Court of Appeals, where a three-judge panel also rejected his request and argument.
In a written statement, Justice Amanda Potterfield said, “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.”
Furthermore, the appeals court added that per Iowa State law, 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.”
Additionally, Schreiber had also claimed that he was revived against his will, being that he had signed a “Do Not Resuscitate” order years prior to his medical emergency.
Plus, Schreiber’s brother was also brought into the situation and relayed to medical staff, at the time of the emergency, that “if he is in pain, you may give him something to ease the pain, but otherwise you are to let him pass.”
Since all of the court back and forth, Schreiber died last month in April at Unity Point Medical Center in Fort Dodge, “due to natural causes.”
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