A convicted murderer who was serving life in prison tried his luck at getting released after claiming his sentence was over on a technicality.
Benjamin Edward Schreiber, 66, was jailed for life after being found guilty of first-degree murder following the death of John Terry in 1996.
Terry had been bludgeoned to death with an ax handle and Schreiber was given life behind bars without possibility of parole.
However, he had launched an appeal after a medical emergency left him technically "dead" before his heart was restarted with resuscitation, which he believed could be his 'get out of jail free card'.
Schreiber had been hospitalized in 2015 after developing large kidney stones which led to septic poisoning, which caused him to pass out in his cell at Iowa State Penitentiary, CNN reports.
He believed he had a "get out of jail free" card. Credit: Pexels
He was rushed to hospital where medics restarted his heart five times using an IV containing "adrenaline/epinephrine", despite him having a 'do not resuscitate' order he had signed years earlier, court documents stated.
After his heart was successfully restarted, Schreiber underwent surgery to repair the damage caused to his kidneys and was treated for septic shock with antibiotics, and went on to make a recovery.
When he was initially admitted to hospital, medics had called his brother in Texas who told them: "If he is in pain, you may give him something to ease the pain, but otherwise you are to let him pass," according to the filing.
He launched an appeal for post-conviction relief in 2018, in which he claimed that his life sentence had technically ended when his heart had stopped, causing him to 'die' temporarily.
Schreiber had argued that he had been sentenced to life without parole, 'but not to life plus one day.'
However, despite his claim, a judge declined his request to be freed in 2019, ruling that he had to remain behind bars.
Judge Amanda Potterfield stated at the time: "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."
The district court had earlier rejected his appeal as "unpersuasive and without merit" despite him claiming that he had overstayed his prison time by four years after his technical "death".
It stated in court documents at the time: "Petitioner asserts that he 'died' on March 30, 2015 and as a result of such 'death' he has now served the life sentence and should be released from custody.
"The court finds this assertion unpersuasive and without merit. Nothing in the record supports petitioner’s claims. The petitioner’s filing of these proceedings in itself confirms the petitioner’s current status as living."
It did not address Schreiber's additional claim that his due process rights were violated when his wishes to not be resuscitated were not followed by doctors, and the court of appeals said in its ruling that it could not address it either as the lower court had not made a judgment on it.
According to his online obituary, Schreiber's life eventually came to an end in April 2023 at a hospital in Fort Dodge, Iowa.