Benjamin Schreiber was convicted of murder for spending the rest of his life in prison. Then he had to be revived during an operation, arguing that he had died for a short time - and thus served his lifelong freedom road.
A court of appeal in Iowa now had to decide whether the sentence would endure even after a short-term death.
Schreiber was sentenced to imprisonment in 1996 for killing a man. According to media reports, he hit the victim with the handle of a pickaxe. He was put in jail - without the possibility to be paroled.
Four years ago, according to court documents, Schreiber became unconscious in his cell: kidney stones had caused blood poisoning. The inmate was then transported to a hospital and revived several times.
Schreiber therefore argued that he had served his sentence by his temporary death. He must be released immediately. The medical staff revived him against his will. In addition, he was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole, "but not for life and one day."
A district court, however, did not consider its reasoning convincing in September. The appeal court confirmed the decision of the lower court. Accordingly, Schreiber was sentenced to spend the rest of his life in prison, regardless of how long this period is or what happened before his death.
"Writer is either alive, in which case he has to stay in jail, or he is dead, in which case this appeal is void," the court said.
