Prisoner Who Died and Came Back to Life Argued His Life Sentence Had Ended! What You Think?

We mean, technically—he had a point.

In one of the most bizarre legal arguments in recent history, an Iowa prisoner named Benjamin Edward Schreiber claimed that he had already served his life sentence—because he briefly died.

Schreiber, convicted of first-degree murder in 1997 for the brutal killing of 39-year-old John Dale Terry with a pickaxe handle, was serving a life sentence without parole at the Iowa State Penitentiary. His conviction stemmed from a 1996 crime near Agency, Iowa, and his appeals over the years had consistently failed.

But in 2015, Schreiber developed severe kidney stones that led to septic poisoning. He was rushed to the University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics, where his condition deteriorated. According to CNN, Schreiber’s heart stopped, and doctors had to revive him five times using adrenaline and epinephrine. Despite having signed a “do not resuscitate” order, medical staff resuscitated him to stabilize his condition.

In 2018, three years after his near-death experience, Schreiber filed for post-conviction relief. His claim? That his life sentence had technically ended the moment his heart stopped. Since he had been “dead,” he argued, the state had fulfilled its obligation, and he should be set free to “get on with his life.”

The argument made its way to a three-judge panel, but unsurprisingly, the courts were not convinced. A district court dismissed the claim, and the Iowa Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal in 2019, stating that Schreiber was “either still alive, in which case he must remain in prison, or he is actually dead, in which case this appeal is moot.”

While Schreiber’s claim was creative, it ultimately failed to persuade the justice system. He remained in custody until his death on April 7, 2023, at the age of 70, from natural causes at a hospital in Fort Dodge, Iowa.

Though unsuccessful, Schreiber’s argument has become a fascinating—and somewhat darkly humorous—footnote in American legal history. It raised philosophical questions about the interpretation of a “life sentence” and demonstrated just how far some prisoners will go in search of freedom.

For Schreiber, however, the courts made it clear: dying briefly didn’t mean his life sentence was over.