Benjamin Schreiber was convicted in 1997 of murder in an Iowa state court and sentenced to life in prison. (Source: The Rapid City Journal, Nov. 8, 2018; South Dakota.) On March 30, 2015, suffering from an undisclosed ailment, Schreiber was transferred from prison to a local hospital where, while on an operating table, he suffered five separate heart stoppages, effectively dying and being brought back to life each time. Thanks to the wonders of modern medical science, Schreiber ultimately survived the surgery and fully recovered. Returned to his prison cell, Schreiber filed a writ of habeas corpus arguing that when he died, he had completed his life sentence and was therefore entitled to be released. Makes sense, if you put your brain in neutral, turn off your common sense, and limit your analysis to a strict interpretation of the letter of the law. However, an Iowa district judge found little merit in Schreiber’s argument, noting that the very act of filing the writ confirmed he was still among the living. An appeals court affirmed the trial court’s decision on November 6th, ruling that “Schreiber is either alive, in which case he must remain in prison, or he is dead, in which case this appeal is moot.” “Writ denied.” 4 Personal Note: One has to wonder whether a California court, with the current trend of finding any conceivable excuse available to release prison inmates back onto the streets, would have been more open to Schreiber’s arguments. It’s just ridiculous enough to have piqued some California court’s interest.