Convicted Murderer Argues He Served Life Sentence After Brief Clinical Death

By Paul Joseph

A convicted murderer in the United States made an unusual legal argument after claiming that his prison sentence ended when he briefly died during a medical emergency before being revived by doctors.

Benjamin Schreiber, who is serving a life sentence in the U.S. state of Iowa, argued before the court that he had technically completed his punishment after his heart stopped during a severe medical emergency in 2015.

According to court records, Schreiber suffered complications linked to kidney stones and septic poisoning while in prison and was reportedly declared clinically dead for several minutes before medical personnel successfully revived him.

Following the incident, Schreiber filed an appeal insisting that because he had “died,” his life sentence had legally come to an end. He argued that the state either unlawfully revived him or had no authority to continue holding him after his death.

However, the court rejected his claim, ruling that a life sentence does not automatically expire because an inmate was temporarily declared clinically dead and later brought back to life.

In its decision, the court maintained that Schreiber remained lawfully convicted and was still required to continue serving the life sentence originally imposed on him.

The unusual case drew widespread attention across the United States because of the rare legal question it raised about the meaning of a “life sentence” and whether temporary clinical death could affect criminal punishment.

Schreiber was originally convicted for the 1996 killing of a man identified as Randall Scott Emery. Investigators said the victim was beaten to death with an axe handle before his body was hidden.