Convicted Murderer Says Life Sentence Was Served When He Died & Was Revived In Prison

If you committed a crime, you darn well do time.

It definitely sucks if someone gets a sentence for life imprisonment or the death penalty. Usually, it’s probably for a good reason like murder.

Then in which case, they should’ve known better.

I’d usually think sentences are tough to overturn unless some groundbreaking discovery is found.

Though, that doesn’t stop some people from trying their luck and probably failing.

Crime And Sentence

A little bit of storytime because people don’t just get life sentences for no reason.

According to NewsWeek, Benjamin Schreiber, Evelyn Tangie and her boyfriend, John Terry (no, not the England soccer play), went drinking together at a friend’s house in July 1996.

The group left a few hours later with Terry nowhere in sight.

The two did not answer when questioned about Terry’s disappearance. Schreiber, however, did say that he had ‘beaten the crap’ out of him and he would not be hurting anyone else.

Terry’s body was found in a Wapello County field near an unoccupied trailer. He had been beaten to death with an axe handle.

Schreiber was found guilty of murder in 1997 and given a life sentence. End of story, right?

But nah, that’s not why you’re here. 

To Cheat His Sentence

This is where things get a tad weird.

On March 2015, Schreiber was hospitalised after large kidney stones caused him to develop septic poisoning, according to court records.

He arrived at the hospital unconscious.

Doctors administered resuscitation fluids through an IV, which saved his life. Schreiber then underwent surgery to fix the damage done by his kidney stones.

But this wasn’t what he wanted. 

Schreiber had signed a ‘do not resuscitate” (DNR) agreement years ago. which legalised him not receiving any treatment to pass on naturally.

The guy was obviously pissed, since his rights were violated. But he took this chance to try and wiggle out of his sentence.

In April 2018, Schreiber filed for post-conviction relief, claiming that his momentary death should allow him to be free.

But…how does that make any sense? Shouldn’t he continue to serve the sentence if he was alive?

Schreiber also cited the doctors’ failure to follow procedure, a solid argument to be honest.

However, the lower court did not make any judgment on it and the court of appeals said it could not address that claim too.

Because the dude isn’t making any sense.

The district court eventually denied Schreiber’s request and the Iowa Court of Appeals agreed.

The final reasoning: the guy needs to be dead-dead first. You can’t be dead-alive and dodge your sentence.

I personally think that the doctors are kind of to blame for denying someone their medical rights. Makes you wonder if any medical licenses will be revoked.

On the flip side, Schreiber’s argument simply felt like all sorts of ridiculous. You killed someone and you aren’t getting off the hook, simple as that.

Don’t try to loophole the law, readers. It’s usually not worth the time and effort.