Ohio Zombie-Man Confirmed Dead By The Court He Personally Attended

Much of my work involves working with law firms, so I speak with lawyers on a daily basis. When the topic of conversation switches away from the IT world and becomes more personal, those lawyers often tell me how mundane their work is. Far from the courtroom drama you get from television and movies, litigation involves more paperwork and banality than many of us would know how to handle. So, while not sexy, you can picture the daily life of a courtroom attorney as repetitive, boring, and yawn-inducing.

But then a freaking zombie walks into the courtroom and demands a social security card and the entire thing goes to hell. At least, that's what appears to have happened in Ohio recently, where a man declared dead in the 90's showed up to get that declaration reversed, only to have the court reaffirm his dead-ness.

Donald Eugene Miller Jr. walked out of Hancock County Probate Court on Monday as legally dead as ever.

In 1994, the court ruled that Miller was legally dead, eight years after he disappeared from his Arcadia rental home. The same judge, Allan Davis, ruled Monday that Miller is still dead, in the eyes of the law. Miller's request for a reversal came well after the three-year legal limit for changing a death ruling, Davis said.

I'm personally just surprised that the bailiff didn't immediately issue a profound double-tap to zombie-Donald's forehead. Isn't that what you do with zombies?

In any case, I'd appreciate a primer from any legal industry insiders as to what the point of a statute of limitations on getting yourself declared not-dead might be. Without a reversal, this poor zombie can't get a social security card so that he can get a job and go through his day slack-jawed and shuffling. You know, like the rest of us do. But no, thanks to Donald's grieving widow, who had him declared dead in 1994 so that she could collect Social Security benefits, Donald's attempt at glorious resurrection has been denied.

"We've got the obvious here. A man sitting in the courtroom, he appears to be in good health," [Judge] Davis said. "I don't know where that leaves you, but you're still deceased as far as the law is concerned."

How the hell are we going to prosecute him when he begins eating brains?