Man Wants Out of Life Sentence After he ‘died’ in 2015

Benjamin Schreiber of Iowa was sentenced to life without parole in 1997 after being found guilty of first-degree murder. The now-66-year-old developed kidney stones in March of 2015 that were so big they “caused him to urinate internally” and led to septic poisoning. He slipped into unconsciousness and was rushed to the hospital, where, despite a “do not resuscitate” order he’d signed, he was resuscitated five times with “adrenaline/epinephrine via an IV.” In April 2018, Schreiber filed for post-conviction relief, claiming that because his heart had stopped three years earlier, his life had technically expired and he should be set free. But a district court called his claim “unpersuasive and without merit” and the Iowa Court of Appeals agreed, ruling the correct interpretation of the law is that Schreiber should have “to stay in prison for the rest of his natural life, regardless of whether he was resuscitated against his wishes in 2015.