How long is a life senetence?

Outside The Beltway
1

there was an interesting legal case about a man serving a life sentence who legally died, he argued he served his time since he had died in prison.

If you’re serving a life sentence but momentarily “die” and are then resuscitated, does that mean you can walk free?

That’s what a convicted murderer is claiming in Iowa. He says he has been in prison for four years too long. But on Wednesday, a three-judge panel of the Court of Appeals of Iowa gave that idea a firm no.

The judges’ opinion states that the prisoner is “either alive, in which case he must remain in prison, or he is dead, in which case this appeal is moot.”

They also note that the inmate managed to sign his name on his motion for post-conviction relief. Therefore, they find the possibility that he is dead “unlikely.”

Benjamin Schreiber, 66, was convicted of first-degree murder in 1997 and was sentenced to life in prison. In March 2015, he developed large kidney stones, which caused him to develop septic poisoning.

2

Interesting case but I doubt it would hold, since he is still alive. Still interesting when bizarre circumstances pop up that they don’t have fully defined assuming they don’t have it written anywhere in such a case.

3

Death has layers. He didn’t go deep enough.

4

He wasn’t dead dead. He was only mostly dead

2 Likes
5

Ask any guy who’s married…

6

They should dock off 5 years for creativity

7

They should give him the choice of continuing to serve prison time, or be buried.

1 Like
8

Call it the Jon Snow Clause.

1 Like
9

But what if he had previously signed up for cremation? :grinning:

10

His argument is that his life ended so his life sentence should end.
The court should give him his choice of continuing in prison or being buried (or cremated).

11

Schroedinger’s inmate?