"was" doesn't always mean that the subject of the sentence has died. e.g. "I was right" doesn't mean I'm a reincarnation/zombie referring to my past life. Same

"was" doesn't always mean that the subject of the sentence has died. e.g. "I was right" doesn't mean I'm a reincarnation/zombie referring to my past life. Same applies to "He/she was right", or "Stallman was right".