Iowa Legislature – " Life " Means Life and " Death " Means Death

The Iowa Legislature is not taking any chances with confusion or ambiguity in what a "life prison sentence" means. (HT: The Gazette) The current Iowa penal code states that when a defendant is convicted of a class A felony, the court shall "commit the defendant into the custody of the director of the Iowa department of corrections for the rest of the defendant’s life." But the statute does not define "life." Apparently, the legislature thought the term was clear enough on its face. But now a bill (S.F. 2093) that has already passed the Senate, and is moving through the House, amends the statute to define “life” as the "defendant’s natural life, regardless of any life-sustaining procedures . . . that may be used on the defendant during the defendant’s sentence." The bill responds to a 2019 case brought by Benjamin Schreiber. In 1997, Schreiber was found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to life without parole. Although Schreiber had a DNR order, he was resuscitated. Schreiber sues, claiming that he should be released from prison because his life sentence was fulfilled when he momentarily had "died" at the hospital.  The courts rejected Schreiber's arguments. But the case highlighted some uncertainty over the definitions of life and death.
Source: blog.bioethics.net - Category: Medical Ethics Authors: Tags: Health Care syndicated Source Type: blogs