Four years ago, an inmate named Benjamin Schreiber experienced a near-death experience when his heart stopped during a medical emergency. Schreiber, 66, was revived and now says his brief ‘death’ means he’s served his life sentence.

According to the BBC, a judge denied Schreiber's claim saying, though the inmate's bid was original, it was 'unpersuasive.’

In 1996, Schreiber was sentenced to life without parole in Iowa for beating a man to death. His own brush with death occurred in 2015 when he developed septic poisoning as a result of kidney stones. Schreiber was quickly resuscitated and made a full recovery.

But the 66-year-old says he was revived against his will and maintains that the short time he spent ‘dead’ technically ended his life sentence.

Last week, an appeals court sided with an earlier decision by a district court in ruling against Schreiber.

The appeals court added that Schreiber's life sentence would end only when a medical examiner formally declared him dead.