Nice Try

by Tom Swift

A sidebar story in the newspaper today tells of a man named Benjamin Schreiber, serving in the Iowa State Penitentiary for murder, who recently argued in court that he had fulfilled his life sentence. How could a living man make such an argument? Four years ago, a fall in his cell caused Schreiber’s heart to stop beating. In fact, doctors had to restart his heart five times. In other words, Schreiber said, he legally died. The Iowa Court of Appeals ruled against Schreiber, however, saying the 66-year-old must remain in prison until his heart stops beating on a permanent basis.