Today, when I returned to my cell at the end of the work day, I sat down on my bunk and began to give thanks to the Lord.  You see, it was on the 19th of August, 1977, that I stood on the brink of eternity.  For it was at this time that police officers surrounded me with their guns drawn.

     I could have been shot dead right on the spot!  If any one of those officers opened fire, which could have easily happened on that dark street, I would have gone straight to Hell.  For at that time (1977) I was a demon-possessed, tormented, lost and evil man who hated Jesus Christ.

     The Lord in his mercy protected me because He knew there would come a day when my sins would be forgiven, that I would repent and believe the gospel.

     I was arrested in 1977, and in 1987 the Lord began to soften my heart and touch me.  It had been a long gap in between with even another brush with death in 1979, when a inmate slit my throat with a razor blade.  I could have died right then on a cellblock tier in the infamous Attica Prison.

     Yet here I stand today, praising God and thanking Him.  I know I am undeserving of His mercy.  But with each day, not only am I grateful, but I am learning that God's mercy is like His love.  It cannot be measured.

                                 David Berkowitz

                                 August 10, 2000

(c) 2000 David Berkowitz