diff --git a/internal/oci/container.go b/internal/oci/container.go
index 745f895021e..021b2408c79 100644
--- a/internal/oci/container.go
+++ b/internal/oci/container.go
@@ -391,14 +391,9 @@ func (c *Container) exitFilePath() string {
 
 // IsAlive is a function that checks if a container's init PID exists.
 // It is used to check a container state when we don't want a `$runtime state` call
-func (c *Container) IsAlive() bool {
+func (c *Container) IsAlive() error {
 	_, err := c.pid()
-	if err != nil {
-		logrus.Errorf("checking if PID of %s is running failed: %v", c.id, err)
-		return false
-	}
-
-	return true
+	return errors.Wrapf(err, "checking if PID of %s is running failed", c.id)
 }
 
 // Pid returns the container's init PID.
diff --git a/internal/oci/container_test.go b/internal/oci/container_test.go
index fd031d2188d..72f0db51842 100644
--- a/internal/oci/container_test.go
+++ b/internal/oci/container_test.go
@@ -306,7 +306,7 @@ var _ = t.Describe("Container", func() {
 			err := sut.IsAlive()
 
 			// Then
-			Expect(err).To(Equal(false))
+			Expect(err).NotTo(BeNil())
 		})
 		It("should succeed if pid is running", func() {
 			// Given
@@ -318,7 +318,7 @@ var _ = t.Describe("Container", func() {
 			err := sut.IsAlive()
 
 			// Then
-			Expect(err).To(Equal(true))
+			Expect(err).To(BeNil())
 		})
 		It("should be false if pid is not running", func() {
 			// Given
@@ -331,7 +331,7 @@ var _ = t.Describe("Container", func() {
 			err := sut.IsAlive()
 
 			// Then
-			Expect(err).To(Equal(false))
+			Expect(err).NotTo(BeNil())
 		})
 	})
 	t.Describe("Pid", func() {
diff --git a/server/container_execsync.go b/server/container_execsync.go
index 21071f8855b..316c0c2317a 100644
--- a/server/container_execsync.go
+++ b/server/container_execsync.go
@@ -1,8 +1,7 @@
 package server
 
 import (
-	"fmt"
-
+	"github.com/pkg/errors"
 	"golang.org/x/net/context"
 	"google.golang.org/grpc/codes"
 	"google.golang.org/grpc/status"
@@ -16,13 +15,13 @@ func (s *Server) ExecSync(ctx context.Context, req *pb.ExecSyncRequest) (*pb.Exe
 		return nil, status.Errorf(codes.NotFound, "could not find container %q: %v", req.ContainerId, err)
 	}
 
-	if !c.IsAlive() {
-		return nil, fmt.Errorf("container is not created or running")
+	if err := c.IsAlive(); err != nil {
+		return nil, status.Errorf(codes.NotFound, "container is not created or running: %v", err)
 	}
 
 	cmd := req.Cmd
 	if cmd == nil {
-		return nil, fmt.Errorf("exec command cannot be empty")
+		return nil, errors.New("exec command cannot be empty")
 	}
 
 	execResp, err := s.Runtime().ExecSyncContainer(c, cmd, req.Timeout)