A convicted murderer made headlines for an outrageous claim: after briefly “dying” in hospital, he argued his life sentence was technically over and that he should be released from prison.
Benjamin Schreiber, an inmate in Iowa, was serving life without parole after being convicted of the brutal mid-90s killing of John Terry.
Terry had been beaten to death with an axe handle, a crime so violent that Schreiber was handed the harshest punishment the state could give.
But years later, he shocked the courts by insisting his brush with death should count as serving out his sentence.
Health Crisis Behind Bars
By 2015, Schreiber’s health had deteriorated. He developed agonising kidney stones that led to septic poisoning, a condition that quickly became life-threatening.
One day, he collapsed in his cell at Iowa State Penitentiary and had to be rushed to hospital.
Once there, doctors battled to keep him alive. His heart stopped not once, but five separate times. Each time, medical staff revived him with adrenaline and epinephrine injections.
The twist? Schreiber had signed a “do not resuscitate” order years earlier. Medics even phoned his brother in Texas for guidance, and he allegedly told them: “If he is in pain, you may give him something to ease the pain, but otherwise you are to let him pass.”
But doctors ignored the order, performed emergency surgery to repair his kidneys, and treated him with powerful antibiotics. Against all odds, Schreiber survived the ordeal.
“I Died, So My Sentence Is Over”
Three years after the incident, in 2018, Schreiber filed a bid for post-conviction relief. His reasoning was unlike anything the courts had heard before.
He claimed that because his heart had stopped on March 30, 2015, he had “died” – and since his sentence was for life, it should be considered complete. In other words, he believed he had served his punishment and should be released from custody.
The unusual request caught attention online, with some people joking he’d found the ultimate loophole, while others slammed it as a desperate attempt to escape justice.
Judges Weren’t Convinced
The courts, however, weren’t swayed. In 2019, Judge Amanda Potterfield ruled against him, saying his argument was “unpersuasive and without merit.”
She explained bluntly: “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.”
Court documents also pointed out the obvious flaw in his argument – the fact that he had filed the legal motion himself proved he was still alive.
Schreiber also claimed that doctors had violated his due process rights by resuscitating him against his wishes. But the district court refused to address that part of his case, and the appeals court said it had no grounds to revisit the issue.
A Life Sentence Until The End
Despite his creative legal bid, Schreiber never managed to overturn his sentence. He remained behind bars in Iowa until April 2023, when he passed away in hospital due to natural causes.
This time, there was no revival, no courtroom arguments, and no chance to claim his punishment had ended. His death was final.
Why The Story Stuck
The case became one of those odd legal stories that captured the internet’s imagination.
On one hand, it was grim – a convicted murderer trying to talk his way out of prison after briefly dying. On the other, it raised strange philosophical questions: what exactly does “life sentence” mean if someone technically dies and is revived?
For the courts, the answer was simple: as long as he was breathing, Schreiber’s punishment wasn’t over. But the bizarre filing ensured his name lived on beyond the prison walls.
Featured image credit: Julian Berry / Iowa State Penitentiary
