Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

A Prisoner Who Briefly Died Argues That He’s Served His Life Sentence

nytimes.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

31–40 of 99 posts

Re: A Prisoner Who Briefly Died Argues That He’s Served His Life Sentence

#31

Post by jacobobryant »

cactus2093 wrote: post #26
harimau777 wrote: post #10

It seems to me that defining clinical death as the loss of heart beat and breathing is outdated and it should instead be defined as the cessation of higher brain activity.[1] Alternately, it seems to me like referring to that as death is playing semantics. It seems to me that the defining feature of death is that you cannot come back from it[2]. I'd be interested to hear other perspectives or if I might be overlookin…

This comment took a turn in your last paragraph in a way that genuinely fascinates me since it was otherwise very logical. So you would write laws around the idea of things that have never been shown to be physically possible, just because you believe them to be possible? How far would you take this? Should we bring back laws against witchcraft? Should other religions get to define their own laws based on what they e…

> I don't think that really impacts practical discussions of death.

Re: A Prisoner Who Briefly Died Argues That He’s Served His Life Sentence

#32

Post by dbcurtis »

barry-cotter wrote: post #29
dbcurtis wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Since it's Iowa, I don’t understand the connection you are trying to make.

Coastal people versus flyover country people

So what is the implication about this homogeneous group you call “flyover people”?

Re: A Prisoner Who Briefly Died Argues That He’s Served His Life Sentence

#34

Post by bdcravens »

oxymoran wrote: post #5

It’s the DNR that makes this one tricky. His lawyer should have made the argument that keeping him alive against his will instead of letting him die constitutes cruel and unusual punishment.

Even if he doesn't get release, I think he will have grounds for a substantial financial judgment. Obviously that's not very useful in prison.

Re: A Prisoner Who Briefly Died Argues That He’s Served His Life Sentence

#35

Post by harryh »

bleh123 wrote: post #2

I'm not fully convinced the courts got this one completely right. This is a very interesting legal argument and lays emphasis on the need for legislators to express their intentions in writing more fully as opposed to writing laws with such loose and widely applicable terms such as "Life" without giving the term or their intent in using it more context. If, as the Judge argues, that "he did not legally die as his pre…

The US Constitution lays liberty and freedom at the heart of individual rights conferred upon people from God or a superior force.

No. It does not.

Go read it again.

Re: A Prisoner Who Briefly Died Argues That He’s Served His Life Sentence

#36

Post by amluto »

harimau777 wrote: post #10

It seems to me that defining clinical death as the loss of heart beat and breathing is outdated and it should instead be defined as the cessation of higher brain activity.[1] Alternately, it seems to me like referring to that as death is playing semantics. It seems to me that the defining feature of death is that you cannot come back from it[2]. I'd be interested to hear other perspectives or if I might be overlookin…

re: your note 2, one might argue that secular laws have no particular business considering whether something was an act of god or not, and that a person who is alive at any given time is therefore, for legal purposes, considered to have never died in the first place.

Re: A Prisoner Who Briefly Died Argues That He’s Served His Life Sentence

#38

Post by nprateem »

It seems to me that the Ship of Theseus is relevant [1]. A temporary loss of heart beat/breathing in a body receptive to resuscitation - and which is resuscitated - shouldn't really be considered dying. We don't consider the continual loss and replacement of bodily tissue over the course of several decades to result in a new person, or that waking after sleeping is classified as a new birth.

And anyway, if the guy was declared dead, should he have expected a new birth certificate and to have his age reset to 0? Would he really suggest someone could be "born" into someone elses body? In that case, perhaps he should be "exorcised", or is he claiming he's now a zombie? Do zombies have legal rights? If not, what was he proposing was the relationship between his pre "dead" personality/identity and his new one?

You can see why the judge went the way he did...

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ship_of_Theseus

Re: A Prisoner Who Briefly Died Argues That He’s Served His Life Sentence

#39

Post by barry-cotter »

dbcurtis wrote: post #32
barry-cotter wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Coastal people versus flyover country people

So what is the implication about this homogeneous group you call “flyover people”?

There are large groups of people in the US, primarily living on the coasts, who view the people living in inland states with contempt and hatred. The same attitude is also expressed as “square states”. Any American who thinks that other Americans will find an appeal to Christianity legally convincing has a warped view of US politics. This particular attitude is like Californians who think that gay people aren’t safe in Texas, or that non-white people are at constant risk of physical violence in Alabama.

I’m not endorsing this viewpoint, it’s just the most obvious explanation for anything as stupid as what nabla9 wrote.

Re: A Prisoner Who Briefly Died Argues That He’s Served His Life Sentence

#40

Post by VeninVidiaVicii »

harimau777 wrote: post #10

It seems to me that defining clinical death as the loss of heart beat and breathing is outdated and it should instead be defined as the cessation of higher brain activity.[1] Alternately, it seems to me like referring to that as death is playing semantics. It seems to me that the defining feature of death is that you cannot come back from it[2]. I'd be interested to hear other perspectives or if I might be overlookin…

That's a strange way to end an otherwise compelling comment.
Post reply on HN